Two Steps From Deaths Door
by CrazyChick224
Summary: "Are you going to kill me?" I ask, shivering in the cold. I glanced at my bleeding arm, which was broken and blood-drenched. "No," Zeke says with an insane grin on his face. "Not yet, anyways. I want to wait until it's just you and me, the last survivors. And, so you can suffer a bit more," He chuckles, spitting some blood out of his mouth. "Fine with me," - Rated T cuz it's the HG
1. Chapter 1

I try to sleep, but the thoughts of what tomorrow will bring prevent that. I tossed and turned, pulling my worn out blanket over my head. Everything was silent, except for the wind occasionally knocking my old shutters against my one window. I couldn't stop thinking about tomorrow. Eventually I fall asleep, only to be woken by my aunt Litch screaming my name.

"Aspen! Get up! You only have 20 minutes till the reaping!" She yells. "I wish the reaping wasn't so early," I mutter as I drag myself out of my warm bed and into the shower. Once out of the shower, I put on a brown turtleneck with a jean skirt. I've always been modest and simple, I don't know why, I just have. Then I brush out my long, natural black hair and sigh when I see that my blue eyes had turned blood-shot from lack of sleep. Then I pull on my old, muddy boots and head downstairs.

The first thing I noticed when I got downstairs was my aunt's curly, strawberry blonde hair and the sound of her anxiously tapping her fingers on the kitchen counter. "What took you?" she asked with a hint of annoyance in her voice. "Couldn't sleep," I reply not wanting to get her more upset. My aunt Litch always over reacts to everything. "Well go to reaping, it starts in five minutes," Aunt Litch says as she shoo's me away.

I walk outside into the streets of District 8, the ugliest district of them all. It's full of buildings, and not a blade of grass to be seen. It's always cloudy, and whenever it is sunny, I never get to see it because I'm stuck working in a factory for 8 hours. Eventually I come to the Justice Building and get my blood taken, then head to the group of 17 year old girls. Then our escort Trilly, who was wearing electric green and has her orange hair bedazzled with rime stones, walked onto the stage and started talking. I didn't pay attention to what she was saying until she walks over to the bowl which had every girl in District 8's name.

"Girl power, right?" Trilly says as she does a fist bump. None of the girls laughed, despite Trilly's effort to make the tension light. Trilly cleared her throat and reached her hand into the glass bowl. I held my breath, my heart was pounding so loud that I thought it would burst! Trilly waddled back over to the microphone. She opened her lip glossed mouth and spoke a name, but my heart was pounding so loud that I couldn't hear it, and maybe my mind blocked it out as well. I blink when I notice everyone was staring directly at me. "_Oh no," _I thought to myself, _"they picked me!" _My mouth went dry and my whole body felt numb as I saw Peace Keepers walking toward me. They grabbed my arms and started to pull me toward the stage. Everything seemed to go in slow motion as I thought about all the ways I could die in the Hunger Games. I glanced to my left, then to my right. Everyone was staring at me. I saw some of my friends, but everyone looked sad as I walked past them. My stomach was churning, I thought I was about to throw up! It seemed like an eternity, but we finally made it to the stage.

They stepped aside when we were at the stairs, letting me walk up by myself. "Our female tribute, Aspen Darnell," Trilly remarked as she waved me over to the microphone. I slowly walked next to her, turning to face the crowd. They all had looks of despair on their faces, as we still had more soul to be taken. Then Trilly waddled over to the boys bowl. "You boys want in on some of this action?" Trilly smiled as she reached her hand inside the bowl. "No!" One of the boys yelled from the crowd. "I'm sweating! Oh my gosh!" Trilly said as she swished her hair and walked back to the microphone. She gingerly opened the card and read aloud, "Timre Baston!" A young boy came out from the 14 year old boy section, looking surprisingly calm. He had short red hair, was pale like the rest of us in the district, and had grey eyes. His stature was kind of scrawny though.

"Our tributes of the 73rd annual Hunger Games, Aspen Darnell and Timre Baston!"

* * *

I wait in a old room in the Justice Building. Then the door swings open and I whip around to see aunt Litch. She's not crying but she's on the verge of crying. We don't say anything, just hug each other for a few minutes. Then she pulls away, clears her throat and takes a deep breath.

"Aspen... I need to tell you something," She clears her throat again. "What is it? If it's about the arena I-" " -It's not that... it's about me," She's crying now, and so am I. "W-what?" I ask, not knowing what to expect. "I-I-I... I have cancer, and I'm not sure how much t-time I have left," She stammered. My jaw dropped as my eyes teared up more. "...What?" I say through clenched teeth. My Aunt Litch was my only family, the last remaining relative that I had. Suddenly, the sound of footsteps echoed through the small room. The Peacekeepers were coming. "I... I thought you should know, just in case I'm not here when you get back," Aunt Litch said just as the door flew open and the Peacekeepers marched inside. "Wait, five more minutes, please!" I stammer, swallowing hard. "Time's up," One of them say as they grab a hold of Aunt Litch's arms. "Listen, you'll be fine, just do your best," Aunt Litch mutters as the Peacekeepers lead her to the door. "No, wait! Aunt Litch!" I wail as I try to follow. Another Peacekeeper held me back. I watched in horror as they lead my dying aunt out the door, closing it behind them. "Aunt Litch!" I scream as the Peacekeeper which was holding me back walks out as well. The sound of their footsteps slowly got fainter and fainter until everything was silent. I stared at the door blankly, soaking it all in. I got chosen to go to the Hunger Games, and had a slim chance of making it out. If I did make it out, I'd have to kill everyone else in order to win. And my aunt, who was like my mother and was my only family left, was dying of cancer. I closed my eyes, everything seemed hopeless. "_If my aunt dies while I'm in the arena," _I thought to myself, _"I might as well not even come back."_

**Hooday! Hope you liked it, and please review and... IF THE SHOE DONT FIT THEN THAT AINT YO SHOE! And I dont own the Hunger Games or its characters, no copyright intended.**


	2. Chapter 2

I sit across from my district partner on the speeding train while Trilly, our escort, talks on endlessly about the capitol. I don't really listen to what Trilly is saying, because I'm studying my district partner. At 14, he was a scrawny little fellow, and I wondered how well he could fight. I narrowed my eyes, wondering if he had a chance at winning. Suddenly, a door behind me opened and our mentors Woof and Ruby walked in. "Hello there! Are you here to being me my squirrels?" Woof asked with a wide smile. He was old, really really old. "Uh... Yeah," Timre said with a smirk. I raised my eyebrows. "Well, where are they?" Woof asked, looking confused. "I ate them," Timre grinned. Woof's jaw dropped in dismay. "Anyway, I am Ruby and this is Woof, your mentors," Ruby said, clearing her throat. After Woof's conversation about squirrels, I wasn't exactly thrilled to hear that. "Wonderful," I mutter under my breath.

"So, can you fight, woman?" Woof said, sitting down beside me. "Um, my name is Aspen, and no, not really," I say slowly. "Hmm," Woof says, rubbing his temples. "But I can run fast!" I say with a slight smile. "Big whoop!" Timre says with a laugh. "And what can you do, fella?" Ruby asks with no emotion on her face. "I can shoot people with my loser vision," Timre says, puffing out his chest. "Loser vision?" I ask, giving him a weird look. "Yeah, I shoot losers with my vision," He replied, sticking his tongue out in an immature way. "Enough with the jokes! This is serious!" Trilly says in a demanding voice. "Right!" Woof screams, standing up and pointing at Trilly. Everybody jumped, startled. "Sorry, Woof isn't really... All there..." Ruby says with a face palm. "I am all here!" He says as he walks to the table, grabbing a muffin and eating it. Ruby sighs. "You should all go to bed. We have a long, long ride ahead of us," She says as she stood up and walked out. Trilly nodded. "Up, up! Off to bed!" She says, clapping her hands. "I don't like my pants," Woof mutters as he walks out as well. "I'm gonna go hit the hay," Timre says with a yawn as he stood up and walked to the door. He paused, turning around and looking at me. "I'm warning you, if you sneak into my room and try to kiss me, I'll go all gangster on you!" He joked as he walked out. I rolled my eyes and glanced to my left to see Trilly leave as well. I leaned back in my chair, frowning. "_This is my team... wow. I'm dead meat,"_ I thought to myself, closing my eyes tight. The train slowly got darker and darker as the night got later. I pulled my knees up to my chest and hugged them, deep in thought. "How am I supposed to win this?" I say aloud, knowing no one could hear me. "Do I even want to win this?" I ask myself slowly. Eventually while I was deep in thought, I drifted off to sleep.

* * *

I wake up hearing a shrill scream. I open my eyes to see Trilly standing above me. "What are you doing here?" She demands. I sit up straight, looking around and realizing I'm still in the chair that I was in when I got on the train. "I just... Fell asleep," I say slowly. "Go take a shower! You're filthy!" Trilly orders, holding her nose. _"I'm not that filthy!" _I think to myself. I stand up and follow Trilly to my room. My room is small, but has fancy decorations and a big bed. "The bathroom is to the left," She says as she turns and walks out. I plop down on the bed face first. Then I hear Trilly yell, "SHOWER!" in the distance. "What, can she see through walls?" I mumble as I stand up and go to the shower.

After my shower, I got dressed in my old clothes and brushed my hair. I walk over to my bed and sit down, hugging my knees to my chest again. My heart sank as I thought about my dying aunt. She was my only family left. When I was little, my parents both died mysteriously. They just disappeared one day. A week later, their bodies were found in a dumpster near the end of the district. I think it had something to do with the capitol, but I'm not sure. Tears filled my eyes as I could hardly remember my parents' faces. Suddenly, my bedroom door flew open and in raced little Timre. "Hey, district partner who I will eventually have to kill!" He shouts in glee as he plops on my bed next to me. I give him a strange look. "Hello..." I mumble slowly. "What yah doin'?" He asks, elbowing me. "Nothing," I say quietly, wiping my eyes. He frowned slightly, seeing I had been crying. "Want to get some cake?" Timre asks with a devilish smile. I paused, looking at him. When Timre got picked at the reaping, he was pretty calm. I haven't seen the slightest bit of worry on his face since. He was always smiling or making jokes, even though he was a scrawny little guy. "Timre, can I ask you something?" I ask quietly, still hugging my knees to my chest. "Sure," He replies, leaning back. "Are you scared?" I ask as I look directly at him. Timre paused, and for once he wasn't smiling. He took a deep breath, looking away. "Well, sure I am; but if I'm going to die, I might as well be happy. You should try it sometime," He says, regaining his grin. I smile slightly, just being around Timre would lift anyone's spirits.

* * *

I let out a shriek of pain as another wax piece of paper ripped the hair off my legs. "Just kill me now!" I scream, somehow managing a sarcastic tone. Two prep team members had to hold me down as they "cleaned me up". We had made it to the capitol about an hour ago, and were immediately taken to the prep team. It was torture. Pure, pure torture. "I think you need to be hosed down again," One of them said. "I agree," Another replied. "Not the hose!" I wail as they pulled me off of the table and back to where the hose was. After another hour of "torture", I was left in the room alone. I looked down at my freshly waxed arms. "Smooth as a baby's butt," I say, completely mind blown that my arm was so smooth, yet raw. Then the door swings open! "Don't look!" I shriek as I snatch the towel beside me and wrap it around myself. "Sorry, sorry," a man says as he spins around so his back is toward me. "Does anyone here knock?" I mumble, shaking my head. "My name is Flash," The man says, cautiously turning around. "No kidding!" I say, looking away. "I'm your stylist," Flash remarks as he walks toward me and extends his hand for a handshake. "Aspen," I reply, gingerly shaking his hand.

* * *

I look down at my costume. It's a mixture of blood-red and majestic blue. It looked like someone had thrown red and blue paint on the dress and then swirled it around with a stick. The dress looked pretty, I guess. I'd rather be wearing my turtle neck, though. The dress was tighter at the top, then gradually flared out till it reached my knees. My shoes were dark blue high-heels, they just about killed my feet. My hair was in a neat fish-braid. My makeup was extremely dramatic, I hated it! On my right eyelid, my eyeshadow was a sparkly red then got darker as it went down almost to my cheek. My left eye was the same, only blue. My lipstick was a brilliant red, making my lips look humungous! "How... does this represent my district?" I ask slowly, examining myself in the mirror. "Your district represents making clothes, so obviously, your clothes had to be unique!" Flash says with a proud smile. "I look like a possessed butterfly," I muttered, frowning. Then suddenly, Trilly bursts through the door. "It's about to start! Hurry, hurry!" Trilly says with excitement. I groan as they rush me out the door.

"Ow, ow, ow!" I mumble as we hurry to the chariot room. I gasp when I see the other tributes. I only got to glance at them, since Trilly was practically dragging me to my chariot, but almost all of them looked mean and determined. I gulped hard as I slowly stepped onto my chariot, turning my attention to the doors in front of us. Suddenly, Timre came out of nowhere and stepped onto the chariot as well. I had to do a double-take to recognize him in his outfit and insane hairstyle. "Ready for this?" He asks, smiling with excitement. "No," I stammer as I stare wide-eyed at the doors. Then, the doors swung open and out marched District 1, followed by 2 and 3. The crowd started to scream and cheer with excitement! "Wouldn't it be funny if the horses started pooping on their precious floor?" Timre whispers to me. I couldn't help but laugh at the thought, even though my heart was pounding with terror. I watched as District 4, 5, and 6 marched out into the lights and noise. "Would you go already, District 7? You drive like my grandma!" Timre screams. The boy in the District 7 chariot turned around. He wasn't a boy, he was an insanely, terrifying, muscular monster! My jaw dropped as he glared at the two of us. "Timre! Shhh!" I hiss as I hit him on the shoulder. Then, District 7 marched out the doors. My heart leaped into my throat as our horses began to follow. I clutched Timre's sleeve in fear. It took my eyes a few seconds to adjust. The room was dark, except for the extremely bright spotlights shining down on each chariot. I smile nervously at the crowd, and I glance over at Timre, who is shining his million-dollar smile. Finally we reach the Town Circle and President Snow walks up to the balcony. "Welcome, tributes, to the 73rd annual Hunger Games," He continues his speech which I don't bother listening to. I just stare at the boy from 9, who is paying close attention to the president. Something was just... captivating about him. Then I draw my attention back to Snow's speech. "... And may the odds be ever in your favor,"


	3. Chapter 3

**HOODAY! I hope you liked my chapters and I don't own the hunger games or the image above. By the way, if you didn't catch it in the first chapter, this is the 73rd Hunger Games, not the 74th.**

"Munch, munch, munch," rang through my ears as I slowly woke up from my slumber. I blinked a few times to make my eyes adjust, then I sleepily looked down at the foot of my bed to see Timre sitting there eating cereal. "What... are you doing... in my room?" I demand as I sit up, rubbing my eyes. "Captain Crunch-a-tizing, duh," Timre says as he shows me his bowl of cereal. "And you have to eat your breakfast in my bedroom?" I ask with a yawn. "Yeah, Woof told me to wake you up. What better way to wake up then to see me," he says as he smooths his hair sarcastically, "eating breakfast like a beast?" Timre grins in a flirtatiously sarcastic way. I stare at him for a second. "Before you slap your behind with a wet towel, could you get out please?" I remark as I throw my pillow at him. "Fine, fine!" He says as he stands up and walks out. I rubbed my eyes once more, then dragged myself out of my bed and over to the mirror. I turned on the sink and splashed some cold water on my face to wake me up. Then, I brush my black hair and pull it back into a ponytail. When I walked to my closet, there were my training clothes hanging there. "At least it's not that dreadful, dreadful dress," I say cheerfully as I change into my training clothes. "Aspen!" Woof's voice boomed. "What?" I reply, fixing my ponytail. "Come here right now," Woof orders from outside my door. I paused for a second, then walked over and opened the door. I blinked in shock when I see that Woof was wearing an overly large, exotic tribal mask. "You look ridiculous!" Woof remarks as he grabs my arm and leads me down some hallways. "Wait, what about my breakfast?" I asked, following him. "Breakfast is for weenies!" Woof says as he begins to run. I burst out laughing as I ran after him. He looked crazy-well he was crazy-but he looked crazier because he was an old man, running down the hallway, wearing a tribal mask.

We finally reached the Training Center; Timre was standing there waiting for us. I gulped, it looked dark, scary and it reeked of tension and sweat. There were stands of weapons and some training dummies lined up in the middle of the room. "Listen, listen, listen!" Woof says as he motions for us to get into a huddle. Timre and I quickly walked over and got into a huddle with Woof. We paused, waiting for him to give us advice. He stared at us through his tribal mask for a few moments. "Well?" Timre asked slowly. "Well what?" Woof replied. "What did you call us into a huddle for?" Timre asks, looking confused. "It looked fun!" Woof said cheerfully. "Okay, Timre, just do your best and don't be intimidated " I say as I pull out of the huddle and turn to face the other tributes, which were standing on the other side of the room. They were all staring at us, and I don't blame them. I would stare at us too if the mentor was wearing a tribal mask! "Let's kick some butt!" Timre says as he walked beside me. "I agree," I say, but my eyes kept drifting over to the boy from District 9. He was tall with short, dark brown hair and hazel eyes. He was very handsome, and very, very toned. I know, that sounds really stalker-ish, but it was true! He was a hunk! But my daydreaming was interrupted by Timre elbowing me. "You're staring!" He says in a loud whisper. "O-Oh, I was?" I stammered as I began to blush. I hoped the District 9 boy didn't see me staring at him. Then, Atala walks to the middle of the room and begins to speak. "In two weeks, 23 of you will be dead," She says sternly. "That's encouraging," Timre whispers to me. We stood there for about 10 minutes, listening to her speech, then after she was finished, I headed over to the knife-throwing station. I pick up the knife and aim it at the dummy, which was about 15 feet away. Then after about a minute of aiming, I lean back and throw the knife with all my might. It hits the wall, and barely killed a trainer. "Watch it!" The trainer screams as he glared at me. "Sorry!" I say, backing away. I stare at the knife which was lodged into the wall, then back at the dummy, which was like 5 feet away from the actual target. I heard a snort behind me, and turned around to the the District 7 boy laughing at me. "Don't laugh at me, I nearly killed that trainer!" I say, looking away. I had to do a double-take when I saw Timre at the other end of the room. He was climbing the training net. Well, technically, he wasn't climbing, he was just hanging in the middle. "Haaaboogeetaaaa!" Timre screamed gibberish as he swung his legs back and forth vigorously. He looked like a little twig that was having a temper tantrum! I shook my head, then turned my attention back to the knife station.

After training, Timre and I walk up the stairs to our District 8 room. "What were you doing in the net station?" I asked, grinning when I remembered how weird he looked. "Being an awesome ninja!" Timre replied with a smile. "Well you looked ridiculous," I reply. "Well don't think you looked so high and mighty at the knife throwing station! I saw you throw the knife five feet away from the target," Timre remarked with a devilish smirk. "Fine, whatever! I'm not good with knives, moving on!" I say, crossing my arms.

* * *

After dinner, I went into my room and stared out the window. I didn't want to be here, I wanted to go home. I may not have had many things, but it was safe. I looked around at all the decorations in my room. They were pretty, and I liked them, but I still was homesick for my old bed up in the attic. I stared back out the window, getting deep into thought. I didn't want to be here, even though Timre and Woof were great company; always making jokes and always wearing a smile. I just wanted to go home, was that so terrible? I must have been so deep in thought that I didn't even hear Ruby come in. I haven't seen her since we were on the train. Suddenly, I felt a hand on my shoulder, jerking me out of daydreaming. "Are you okay?" I hear Ruby ask as I turn around to face her. "What? Oh... yeah, I'm fine," I reply with a shrug. "You know, I didn't want to be here either," Ruby says as she goes to the window. "What?" I asked. "I hated being here, everyone seemed so... fake," Ruby went on, staring out the window. "I was scared to death, too!" She chuckled. "Yeah..." I say slowly, shrugging. "You know, back in my Games, this was my old room," Ruby said, glancing back at me. "Really?" I asked, shocked. "Yep. Looks a lot different, though. But there was still this window," She said, looking back out the window. "I would stare out of this window for hours, trying to devise a way to somehow go home," Ruby said. "Did you?" I asked. "Did I what?" She replied, looking back at me. "Figure out how to win," I remarked. Ruby paused, as if remembering back. "Yup, I sure did," She answered, but instead of smiling, she frowned. "I wanted to go home, but I didn't want to win," She said slowly. "What do you mean?" I asked, crossing my arms. Ruby looked down at her feet. "Don't get attached to the tributes, even Timre," She said quietly. "Because when the time comes for when you have to win," She began to say. "No, I'm not going to hurt Timre, no way!" I say, backing up a few steps. Ruby sighed. "I know, that's what I said about my partner, Demetri," Ruby said as sadness filled her eyes. I stared at her for a second. "You killed your own partner?" I asked, shocked. She glared at me, "No! I kept my word, and didn't touch him. But when the countdown was done, and everyone ran for the supplies, he was the first one to die," Ruby said, looking away. "What I'm trying to say is, be prepared. Anything can happen and anyone could get hurt. Use your mind, be smart, don't make stupid decisions," Ruby said as she walked to the door. She paused, looking back at me. "And whatever you do, don't run for the supplies," She said as she walked out, closing the door behind her.


	4. Chapter 4

After hearing Ruby's speech, I couldn't sleep that night. I stared at the dark ceiling, trying to force myself to go to sleep. But I couldn't stop thinking about what she had said. _"What's going to happen to me and Timre?"_ I thought to myself, pulling my blanket close to my face. I didn't know Timre that well, but he was the closest thing I had to a friend here. I didn't want to see him get hurt. "_What do I do?" _I thought as I continued to stare at the ceiling. For a while I just thought about the Hunger Games, what could happen, if I had a plan. For some reason, I felt empty and alone. I was by myself, if I really thought about it. Ruby and Woof are only helping me because they have to, and Timre will have to kill me if he's going to win. Even if I won, I had no one to go home to. There was a good chance that my aunt, who was dying of cancer, would already be gone when and if I went home. But there could be a chance that she's still alive when I go home. _"If I win,"_ I think to myself, _"I'd have the money to get her the best doctor out there," _I sighed. I felt sick to my stomach with all the stress and pressure. I glanced over at my clock, which was on the dresser beside my bed. It read 3 AM. I sighed, then looked back at the ceiling. What should I do?

* * *

The next morning went by quickly. Timre burst into my bedroom singing some off-key song that he made up to make me wake up, I ate breakfast next to Woof who gave us a speech about how dogs sweat through their tongues, and before I knew it, I was in the Training Center. I was at the spear area. The spears were heavier than I expected, and I had to use my entire body to throw it. Of course, I missed the training dummy every time. "Weak," Timre said every time I threw the spear. After the third time, I glared at him. "Thank you, I get it," I mutter as I shake my head. "What are you good at?" Timre asked, walking over to my side. "I dunno," I say with a shrug. Timre paused, thinking. "Can you... touch your tongue to your nose?" He asked with a big smile. I raised my eyebrow. "Yes, but I don't see how that would help me in the Hunger Games," I say slowly. "Yes it can! Right before they kill you, touch your tongue to your nose and they'll be so amazed that they just couldn't kill you," Timre grins. "Oh, gee, thanks!" I say sarcastically as I turn and walk in the middle of the room, trying to figure out which training area to go to next. "You strike me as a poison kind of gal," I hear a deep voice say behind me. A little startled, I turned around to see the boy from District 9 standing there, smiling. Instantly, my heart started pounding and my mouth went dry. "O-Oh, really?" I ask quietly, not knowing what else to say. "Who are you?" Timre said as he marched up beside me, crossing his arms and glaring at the boy. "Stearic," He says as he extends his hand for a handshake to me. Timre quickly pushed his arm away before I could shake Stearic's hand. "She thinks you stink," Timre says with a glare. My eyes widen as I give Timre the "shut your face" look. "Uh, hahaha... No, no I don't..." I stammer, looking away. "That's okay, I didn't wash my hair this morning anyway," He says as he glares at Timre. Timre grinned evilly, as if knowing that I'd protect him if Stearic tried to fight him or something. "Well, I haven't tried the poison area yet, I guess I should," I say slowly as I turn and head toward the poison training area. "I want to see this," Stearic says as he follows. Timre quickly ran beside me. "We hate him, don't we?" He whispers in my ear. "No! We don't!" I whisper back. "I think we do," He whispers in a sarcastic tone. "No!" I hiss. "I can hear you, you know," Stearic remarks from behind us. Timre looked back. "We hate you," He says as he spins back around and keeps walking. I shake my head and walk to the poison center.

At the poison area, there was a desk with different herbs, plants, berries, etc. Surprisingly, hardly anyone was there except the girl from District 3. I could tell it was her because I noticed her thick, spiral curly blonde hair. "We hate you too," Timre remarks to her as we walk to the desk. "You're in a bad mood today," I say to Timre. He looked away. "No I'm not," He mumbled. "Are too," I say as I raise my eyebrow. "I think he didn't take his happy pills this morning," Stearic says as he leans on the desk. Timre glared at Stearic. "No, I saw your ugly face!" He snaps as he spins around and marches off. I watched Timre storm away, my jaw dropped. I've never, ever seen Timre like that! I glanced over to see the girl from District 3 watching as well, wide eyed. "What a weird little kid," Stearic chuckles, shaking his head. I paused, still in shock, then look at Stearic. "He's not weird, he's just in a bad mood. I don't blame him, I mean he's... here," I say as I look around the room. "Good point," Stearic nods. "Now lets see if my assumption was right!" He says as he nods toward the poisonous things on the desk. I smiled slightly, then walked over to the desk. _"Oh my word, I'm talking to Stearic! No way!" _I think to myself, hiding a smile. I looked down to see all of the poisonous plants and herbs. For some strange reason, they all looked beautiful and colorful. I cautiously grabbed a mysterious looking flower and some bright blue berries, putting them all in a little bowl. _"These look like they would be pretty deadly." _I think to myself. I began to mash and mix them together with a stick. "So, what's your name, anyway?" Stearic's deep voice interrupts my concentration. I paused, looking at him. "Um, Aspen," I say quietly, looking back down at the herbs. "Aspen... Pretty," Stearic says, looking as if he was deep in thought. "Yeah, I like the name I guess," I say, not looking up. "Wasn't talking about the name," Stearic says boldly. Instantly I blushed from embarrassment, and I didn't dare look up at him. I could hear the girl from District 3 chuckle, trying not to laugh. "That was so cheesy," The girl muttered. Silently, I slowly began to start mashing the poisonous flower and berries again. Stearic just stood there, leaning against the desk, smiling. _"This is so awkward..." _I think to myself. As if on cue, I hear Timre. "Aspen! Get over here!" Timre shouted from across the room. I looked up, backing away from the desk. "Well, I... I better go," I stutter. I quickly spun around and jogged to Timre before Stearic could say anything.

"What?" I ask Timre when I finally reach him. "We have to go see Woof," Timre says, not making eye contact with me. "Timre, are you okay-" I begin to say. "Pshhh! Pfffft! Pshhh!" Timre says as he shrugs, waving his arms around and turning to walk out of the Training Center. I paused, frowning, but I quickly followed Timre to the District 8 room. Once inside, we were met by Woof. "How was your cheese?" Woof asks as he motions for us to come in the room. "Cheese?" Timre asks. "It was great!" I say quickly, trying to avoid another useless conversation. "You better hurry, Woof, we have our private sessions in like ten minutes!" Timre says, crossing his arms. "Okay, okay," Woof says, walking over to me. He points directly at my face. "See this?" He asks Timre. My eyes widen, wondering what Woof was doing. "Yeah..." Timre says slowly. "This is what we call a face," Woof says with a proud smile. "Interesting," Timre says dully. Something was bothering Timre, I just knew it. "This is what you go for," Woof continues to say. "What does that mean?" I asked slowly, staring at Woof's finger which was still in my face. Something in Woof's eye seemed to brighten, as if for a second his mind was clearing up. "Always go for their faces, it'll get 'em every time," Woof says with a smile. "Oh," I say slowly, not expecting his sane answer. "Now go find my hat!" Woof says, going back to his normal, crazy self. "Will do," Timre remarks as he turns and walks out. He surprisingly didn't wait for me, like he always does.

"Timre! Wait!" I shout as I run down the hallway after him. "Why don't you go get lover-boy to wait for you too?" Timre replies sarcastically. "Lover-boy? What!" I remark as I finally catch up to him. I grabbed his arm, making him stop. He did stop, but he wouldn't look at me. "Tell me what's going on, right now!" I say firmly, still keeping a grip on his arm. "First of all, that hurts, and second of all, NO!" Timre replied, still not looking at me. I sighed. "Is this about Stearic?" I ask slowly. Timre looked down but didn't answer. I sighed again, kind of knowing why he was upset. "Timre, listen... I'm 17 and you're 14," I say quietly to not let anyone else hear, even though we were the only ones in the hallway. He wrinkles his eyebrows, looking confused. "Sometimes one develops... feelings for another when they spend a lot of time together," I say slowly. He looked at me with a confused look. "Wait... what?" Timre asks. "It's okay, I get it," I say softly. "Ew! No!" Timre yells as he rips his arm out of my grasp. "You thought I had a 'thing' for you?!" He shouts with an appalled look on his face. Shocked, I quickly try to back-pedal. "Uhh, no! No!" I stammer. "Well someone sure thinks highly of herself!" Timre glares at me. "So you... don't have a thing for me?" I ask slowly. "Aspen, you're like... 100 compared to me!" Timre says, cracking a smile. My jaw drops. "I am so not 100 compared to you!" I say, putting my hands on my hips. Timre bursts out laughing. A weird feeling of relief flows over me when I saw him laugh. It was good to see him as himself again. "Do you know how weird that would have been? Yuck!" Timre says as he sticks his tongue out. I rolled my eyes. "Well what is the problem then, mister young whippersnapper?" I ask, my hands still on my hips. "I'm supposed to... you know... be your friend..." Timre says as he looks down, losing his smile. "You are my friend, duh," I say as I stare at him, making direct eye contact even though he wouldn't look at me. "I know but... then there's 'him'," Timre mumbled. "Stearic?" I asked slowly. "Yeah. Buttface," Timre remarked. "He is not a buttface!" I say quietly. Timre grinned, looking at me. "I was talking about you!" He joked. I rolled my eyes. "Anyway, I don't like him, he was so hitting on you," Timre said as he crossed his arms. "What's wrong with a guy hitting on me?" I asked, raising my eyebrow. There was an awkward silence. "Somebody's jealous!" I say with a devilish smile. Timre blushed. "I am not... jealous! Pfttt!" Timre says, looking away. I grin. "You are so jealous! You're afraid that I'm going to be his friend and not yours anymore!" I laugh. Timre shook his head. "No!" He argues. "Yes, yes, yes! You are jealous!" I laugh again. "Its just... Why can't you be friends with a girl? Why does it have to be some big headed hotshot?" Timre asks, crossing his arms. I shrugged. "I dunno. I like him! He's nice," I say slowly. "Well, new deal, I'm your only guy friend, okay?" Timre remarks, looking me in the eye. "No-" I begin to say. "Okay, Timre!" Timre says, pretending to be me. "Okay then! It's a deal! That's that! That's all she wrote!" Timre says in his normal voice as he flings his arms in the air and begins walking down the hallway. I burst out laughing and follow him, laughing too hard to argue.

**Hooday! Well I was going to try to do the scores and interviews and stuff but decided to do it in the next chapter. And I do not own the Hunger Games or the image above. Reviews are welcome! **


	5. Chapter 5

"Aspen Darnell," A voice booms. I stand up from the chair I was sitting in. Timre and I had been in the waiting room for an hour, waiting to go out and show off our skills to the the Gamemakers to try to get sponsors. I looked over at Timre, my heart was pounding with fear.

"Go kick butt!" Timre says with a big smile. I nodded slowly, then turned and walked out into the Training Room. I was the only one in the room, and all the Gamemakers were in the balcony above me. They were laughing and talking, but they all went silent when I walked in. I just stared wide-eyed at them for a moment.

"Go," a woman says dully.

I gulped hard. "_What do I do? I'm not really good at anything," _I think to myself. Then I remembered what Stearic had said. _"I'll try the poison center,"_ I decided as I walked to the poison area. I've been soaking up everything I could about poison from the trainers. It fascinated me for some reason. They said that the Capitol made different kinds of poison, like the Tracker Jackers. So all the poison on the table was specifically made by the Capitol. I looked down to see a pile of ripe, orange berries, which the trainers called Larica. They said that it was lethally poisonous, but it killed slowly. It was extremely dangerous. I thought for a second, biting my lower lip. _"I wonder what what would happen if I mixed it with Taropa..." _I thought to myself. The trainers had said that Taropa was less lethal, but if you got enough of it, you would die in minutes. I grabbed some Taropa and put it in a bowl with the Larica, then mixed them together. Obviously, no one would eat the poison if they knew the poison was there. I grabbed a stick-like thing called Nye, which inside was a brilliant, liquid red. I broke the stick and poured the red liquid into the bowl. I mixed it as fast as I could, knowing the Gamermakers were watching. Once the poison was all red, I grabbed an apple and dropped it into the mixture. Then I grabbed two twigs, using them as tweezers, and pulled the apple out. It looked completely normal since the poison was red. I blew on it, letting it dry. Proud of myself, I waltz over until I'm in front of the balcony. I hold up the apple in my palm, smiling.

"Ta-da..." I say quietly. They all stared at me with a dull look.

"It didn't work," one of them mumble.

I grinned, waiting. After a moment, a sizzling sound echoed through the room. The apple began to turn mud brown and shrivel up into a disgusting, gooey clump.

"If someone ate this, their insides would rot in minutes," I say loudly so everyone could hear me.

"Thank you, Miss Darnell, you may leave," The head Gamemaker, Seneca Crane says as he stands up. I nodded, dropping the apple on the floor and walked out.

"Timre Baston," the voice boomed as I walked out of the Training Center.

* * *

After my private session was over, I walked to the District 8 room. I sat down on the couch, next to Woof.

"Where's Ruby?" I asked Woof.

"She went to go get yellow," Woof replied as he began drumming his hands on the couch.

"Yellow?" I asked slowly.

"Yep. Don't know when Old Blue will be back from the doghouse," Woof said. I shook my head, smiling slightly. Woof and I waited for a few minutes. I began thinking about my aunt, wondering if she was okay. I rested my head on my hand, frowning. I thought back to my District and friends. I got to see my friends everyday, and now I didn't; I got to walk around and do want I wanted, now I can't. My heart sank. I wanted to go home. Suddenly, Timre burst into the room with a huge grin in his face.

"Your king has arrived!" Timre remarked.

"Where's yellow?" Woof demanded as he stood up.

"Right here!" Timre says as he begins to do some insane dance.

"I'm guessing your session went well?" I say glumly. I was in a bad mood after thinking about home and how much I hated it here. Then Trilly runs into the room, her eyes wide with excitement.

"The scores are here! The scores are here!" Trilly screams.

Then she grabs the TV remote and turns on the television. We all sat down, looking at the screen. My heart was pounding with excitement and horror. It took a while, but they made it through the tributes 1 - 6. The boy from District 7's face came up on the screen.

"Zeke Netterman..." Cesar said slowly.

I stared at Zeke's face on the screen. He looked scary, yet surprisingly handsome. _"I can't believe I didn't notice that before!" _I thought to myself. He had short, dirty blonde hair; it was almost light brown. But even though his hair was short, he made it look kind of spiky. He had dark green eyes, but his eyes were filled with hatred and bitterness. His eyebrows were arched, as if he was staring you down. He also had a scar that went across his left cheek, which added to his intimidating look. Zeke was very, very muscular; which isn't surprising since he comes from District 7. District 7 represents lumber, so he must have been chopping down trees for hours when he was back home.

"...with a score of 10," Cesar's voice boomed, interrupting my thoughts.

"That's a big boy!" Trilly said with a slight smile.

"Eh, I could beat him up," Timre replied with a smirk. Then, finally, Timre's face showed up on the screen. I did a facepalm when I saw his expression. He had his right eyebrow raised and he was doing a flirtatious side-smile.

"Timre, you're a nut!" I laughed as I glanced over at Timre.

"That was for you, since apparently I have a 'thing' for you in your head!" Timre smirked, referring to the conversation we had earlier. I rolled my eyes, shaking my head.

"Timre Baston, with a score of 7," Cesar's voice remarked.

"WHAWHOO!" Timre shouted as he leaped off of the couch like superman. I laughed, watching him do his victory dance. He danced around the entire room, shouting random things at the top of his lunges. Then my heart leaped into my throat when I heard Cesar's voice again.

"Aspen Darnell..." His voice boomed as my face came up on the screen.

"What an ugly woman," Timre joked as he plopped back on the couch.

I glared at him, then back at the screen. My heart was pounding with anticipation. This was the big moment. They were about to say how well they thought I did. This was it!

"...with a score of 8," Cesar's voice remarked.

"Oh my word! I got an 8!" I shouted as I leaped off the couch, staring at the TV in shock. Me, Aspen Darnell, got an 8! They thought I was pretty good!

"You cheated!" Timre says, crossing his arms.

He was obviously a little jealous that I had beaten him. But I really didn't care.

"You got whooped by a girl!" I chime as I point at him. _"Oh, I'm so mature..."_ I think to myself as I realize what I'm doing.

* * *

Now I was sitting in my room, talking to Ruby about my "angle" for the interviews.

"Okay, how about... mysterious?" Ruby asks, raising her eyebrow.

"Do I look mysterious to you?" I replied, bored.

"Okay, scratch that. How about..." Ruby began to say.

"Sophisticated!" Timre interrupted as he walked into the room. He walked in with his shoulders back, head held high, and chest puffed out. He was obviously exaggerating.

"Alright, I don't have time for this! I have to go do business," Ruby remarks as she stands up and walks out.

"What about my angle?" I yell, frowning.

"Be yourself and all that junk!" Ruby replies as she continues to walk away.

"Thanks a lot," I mutter under my breath. Timre fell down on my bed face first as he pretended to cry.

"You hurt my feewings!" Timre wailed sarcastically. His voice was muffled since he buried his face in my blanket. I rolled my eyes.

"Aww, poor wittle Timre!" I play along as I pat his shoulder.

"Gwaaaheeeto!" Timre continued to wail. I grinned slowly.

"Poor little guy... Get off my bed!" I say as I jump up, grab the side of my mattress, and flip my entire bed over and onto the floor.

"Ahh!" Timre yelled in shock as I heard his body smack the floor. My mattress sandwiched him between the floor and the mattress. I burst out laughing. It felt good to laugh, I haven't laughed much the entire time I've been here.

* * *

Two hours later, it was time for the interviews. Timre and I were waiting in line to go get interviewed by Cesar. I looked down at my outfit, which Flash had made me wear. It was a blood-red dress that went down to my knees. The top was like a turtleneck, except it had no sleeves. It flared out, like my other dress, until it reached my knees. It had a streak of blue across my waist. I was wearing black high-heels and my makeup wasn't as dramatic as last time. It was just some mascara and some sparkles around my eyes, finished by a little blush and red lipstick. My hair was up in a tight bun, with a blue hairband. Timre was wearing a black suit with a bold red tie, and that was his outfit.

"Lucky," I whisper to Timre. I hated all the colors that I had to wear! His outfit was so simple! Timre lifted his head and smiled wide, showing off. I rolled my eyes and looked back at the stage in front of us. Cesar was interviewing the District 2 girl named Heshu. I couldn't hear what they were saying, but the crowd kept laughing. Eventually the interviews flew by, and it was my turn to go on stage. I gulped hard, I really didn't want to do this. But I had no choice. One of the crew members cued me to go on stage, but my feet wouldn't move! I stared blankly at the stage, breathing quickly. Suddenly, Trilly pushed me out on the stage!

"Aspen Darnell, everybody!" Cesar announced as he stood up, pointing to me.

"Please, have a seat," Cesar said with a smile. For some reason, I couldn't smile. I quickly sat down, a terrified expression on my face. Cesar chuckled.

"Scary, huh?" He asks as he sits in the chair in front of me. I shrugged. I didn't want to talk, and for some reason I couldn't.

"So, how's life in the Capitol?" Cesar says boldly. My heart leaped into my throat! _"What do I say?" _I think to myself.

"Eh..." Is all that would come out. Cesar raises his eyebrow at me.

"Very descriptive!" He jokes, making the entire crowd laugh. I glanced out at the crowd. There must have been hundreds of people there! I instantly looked down, trying not to get more freaked out.

"So tell me about your district," Cesar remarks.

"It's uh... It's uh... Cold," I stammer, staring at my feet.

"Cold, huh? I see, I see. Well why don't you give us a bit more details?" Cesar asks with a wide smile. I cleared my throat.

"A lot different than here," I say slowly, still staring at my feet.

"And...?" Cesar says, forcing me to say more. I huffed, glaring at him.

"Big, ugly, and cloudy!" I say, then pause when I realize I'm being mean.

"I'm sorry, uh... It's uh... There's a lot of factories," I say quietly. Cesar raises his eyebrows at me in shock.

"Okay, moving on! Tell me about your district partner," Cesar says, turning to smile at the crowd.

"He's loud," I reply slowly. I pause, knowing I'll have to say more or Cesar will make me.

"And he's funny, and he eats cereal a lot," I add, smiling ever so slightly.

"Okay, so what do you think the Games will be like this year?" Cesar asks with his booming voice.

"Um... I have no idea," I answer, looking back at my feet. Cesar laughs, and as if on cue, the crowd laughs along.

"Final question! Tell me what type of family you have at home," Cesar says. I looked up at him, frowning slightly.

"Well, I only have an aunt and she's..." My voice drifts off. I'm tempted to tell Cesar that she has cancer, but I decide to keep that between her and I.

"She's not feeling well," I finish, shrugging. Cesar leans back in his chair, nodding, trying to look interested. But there was no way I was saying anything more. I stood up and began walking off the stage. Startled by my leaving, Cesar stands up.

"Uh... Aspen Darnell, District 8!" He says, pointing at me. The crowd claps and cheers, but I know it's all fake. Once off the stage and out of camera's view, I yell, knowing full well that all the tributes can hear me, "I WANT TO KILL MYSELF!" I scream half joking and half angry.

**Hooday! I changed the format a little so it's easier to read when everybody talks haha! Hope yah liked it and reviews are welcome! I don't own the Hunger Games or the image above.**


	6. Chapter 6

As I stormed off the stage after my embarrassing interview, Timre grabbed my arm to stop me.

"Good job," He says sarcastically as he lets my arm go.

"This isn't the time for jokes!" I yell, still mad for some reason. I marched out of the room and up a long stairway into another large room, where I was supposed to wait for Timre to finish his interview with Cesar. The room was big, with white walls and a checkered marble floor. There were a few odd-looking chairs scattered randomly around the room and a large yellow couch, which Woof, Ruby, and Trilly were sitting on. The couch was placed in front of a huge television to watch the interviews.

"Way to blow it!" Ruby remarks as she glares at me. I was about to snap something smart back, but I held my tongue. I clenched my jaw tightly as anger bubbled inside me.

"What happened-" Trilly began to say.

"I don't want to talk about it!" I interrupt her as I plop on the couch next to Woof and cross my arms. _"I must look like a two year old with a tantrum!"_ I think to myself. Everyone was staring at me shocked.

"Lets just watch the interview!" I remark, poison dripping from my voice.

"Somebody got eaten by a crocodile today..." Woof mutters under his breath as everyone turns their attention to the TV. On the television, Timre walked out onto the stage, beaming with pride and casualness.

"Timre Baston, everyone!" Cesar says as he points to Timre. Everyone in the crowd clapped and cheered as Timre sat down, smiling from ear to ear. He obviously loved all the attention.

"Timre, Timre my boy! How are you?" Cesar begins.

"I'm great, and yourself?" Timre replied as he leaned back in his chair.

"Fine, fine... So, tell me, how's life in the capitol?" Cesar asks.

"Awful," Timre replies as he looks to the crowd and smiles.

"Awful?" Cesar asks, looking surprised.

"Yes, absolutely dreadful!" Timre answers as he crosses his arms.

"How so?" Cesar asks slowly. The crowd got dead quiet. Timre thought for a minute.

"Oh no..." I mutter under my breath, knowing Timre's going to say something stupid.

"Nobody clips their nose hairs!" Timre says with a wide smile. I did a face palm. Cesar burst out laughing, but I could tell it was an awkward, fake laugh. The crowd kind of chuckled.

"You may have fancy things, but we look better," Timre says as he grins devilishly at the crowd.

"That boy is insane!" Ruby remarks as she does a face palm as well.

"Uh... So, can you tell us a little about your district partner? She was a little... quiet tonight!" Cesar laughs, and the crowd automatically laughs along.I glare at the TV.

"He better not say anything stupid..." I mumble as I watch Timre. Suddenly, to my horror, Timre got a huge smirk on his face.

"Y'all know Stearic from District 9?" Timre asks with a devilish smile. My heart leaped into my throat!

"TIMRE, NO!" I scream as I leap out of my chair and lunge for the TV.

"Yes, what about him?" Cesar asks curiously.

"Aspen wants to comb his hair," Timre grins right at the camera, knowing I was upstairs watching the TV. Cesar raised his eyebrows.

"Ohhh, tell us more!" Cesar says as the crowd goes "Ohhh".

"HOW DARE HE SAY THAT!" I yell as I fall to my knees in front of the TV dramatically. I pressed my face against the television.

"They're going to think I'm a nut!" I wail.

"She told me that she daydreams about her and him, sitting on a floor, her combing his hair and he singing a lullaby in the sunset," Timre laughs.

"No..." My voice trails off as I practically lay against the TV.

"I can't see the TV!" Woof complains from behind me.

"SHUT IT, YOU CRAZY OLD MAN!" I shout in anger as I continue to lay against the TV. I cannot believe Timre just told all of Panem that I had a crush on Stearic. Ruby burst out laughing.

"How could you think this is funny? This isn't funny!" I say as I whip around to look at everyone.

"You daydreamed about that guy?" Ruby says while laughing.

"He's lying! I never had that daydream about Stearic!" I say as I glare back at the television.

"Well it's a pretty funny lie!" Trilly joins in as she starts laughing as well. I didn't pay attention to the rest of the interview. All I heard was laughing. I closed my eyes tight, the laughing echoing through my head. It seemed like only a few minutes, but the interview must have ended because I could hear Timre walking up the stairs. I wanted, more than anything, to scream at him. I wanted to punch him in his face! I've never really been in the spotlight. I was always left out of everything, and I liked it that way. I missed it! But now, the whole country knew my name and thanks to Timre, they all thought I was a big joke. And lets not forget that tomorrow, I'm going to have to fight to the death with all the tributes! All these thoughts raced through my mind as Timre walked into the room. I was so embarrassed and hurt that it took me a few seconds before I could look at him.

"Well? How'd I do?" Timre joked as he puffed out his chest proudly. Everyone behind me were still laughing their heads off. I slowly stood up, dusting my knees off. Timre smiled at me, waiting for me to blast him, and I was tempted to! I stared at him for a moment.

"How... could you?" I say as suddenly tears filled my eyes. I wasn't even expecting to cry, but it just came out! Timre's smile slowly faded as tears began to stream down my cheeks.

"Aspen, it was just a joke-" Timre began to say.

"You jerk!" I say through clenched teeth as I spin around and flat out run to my room. I slammed the door and paced around my room for a few minutes. All these emotions were raging through me! I was angry at Timre, hurt from Timre, embarrassed because of Timre, and scared to death because the Hunger Games were tomorrow. I made fists in my hair as tears rolled down my face.

I needed to let my anger out on something, so I grabbed a vase from off of the dresser and threw it against the wall, hoping it would break. Instead, it just bounced off without a scratch. I stood there and stared at it for a minute, then began pacing again. I paced for what seemed like hours, but really was only about 20 minutes. Then there was a knock at my door.

"What, Timre?!" I say loudly, but my voice was shaky from crying. I quickly wiped my eyes and waited for him to walk in. The doorknob twisted and the door slowly opened, but it wasn't Timre standing there.

"Hey, Aspen," Stearic said quietly. I paused as I instantly blushed from embarrassment. Stearic was the last person I wanted to see right now, and I was definitely not expecting him. I quickly ran my fingers through my hair, trying to smooth it out as I wiped my eyes at the same time.

"Uh... hey," I say awkwardly.

"W-W-What are you d-doing here?" I stammered as I looked at my feet.

"I just got done my interview and I wanted to see if you were alright, I heard you screaming or something," Stearic says in a calm voice. I gulped hard and sniffed.

"Oh... I was just mad, that wasn't true by the way," I stutter, still looking at my feet.

"What wasn't true?" Stearic asks quietly.

"The daydreaming thing," I say as I glance up at him. Stearic smiled and walked in, leaning against the wall.

"Yeah, I kind of figured that out on my own," Stearic chuckled.

"You know, he's just a kid. He probably didn't realize that it would hurt you," Stearic shrugged. I shrugged too.

"Well, it did," I say softly as I look away. There was silence for a few minutes.

"I guess I was kind of hoping it was true, to be honest," Stearic says slowly. I paused, not expecting him to say that.

"You hoped that I was daydreaming about me combing your hair as we sat on the floor with you singing a lullaby?" I reply with a slight smile. Stearic laughed.

"Let me rephrase that," Stearic answered with a grin. "I was hoping that you had at least thought about me," He added. I shrugged, shaking my head and smiling.

"Stupid Timre," I mutter sarcastically. There was silence again.

"Well, I wouldn't hold a grudge. If anything, it could get you sponsors," Stearic replied. I nodded, not knowing what else to say. Stearic cleared his throat.

"Well, I'll see you tomorrow," He said as he walked out.

"Yeah, see ya," I say awkwardly.

* * *

After Stearic left, I sat down on my bed. I looked out the window, thinking about the Hunger Games. I watched as the lights in buildings far away flicked on or off as the sky slowly got darker. Everything was quiet and peaceful. Then suddenly, my bedroom door bursts open and in flies Timre. He fell to his knees dramatically in front of me, shoving a butter-knife in my hand. He then grabbed my hand and held the knife to his throat.

"You have my permission to kill me," Timre says melodramatically. He had taken water droplets and put them under his eyes to make it look like he was crying. This was Timre's way of saying he was sorry.

"I'm not going to kill you... especially not with a butter-knife!" I laugh as I toss the butter-knife on the floor. Timre rested his chin on my knee.

"You have to," He says, looking up at me with puppy dog eyes. I just smiled, looking away. I guess my little "break down" to Timre wasn't just because he embarrassed me. It was mostly just the stress of this week finally coming out.

"Don't worry, I've already forgiven you," I say quietly. Timre's face lit up.

"You know I meant it when I said it was a joke," Timre said slowly. I nodded.

"Yeah, I know," I replied.

"I was going to bring a bowl of cereal to make you forgive me, but Woof ate it before I got to your room," Timre mumbled as he stood up.

"Oh, by the way, I have a question," Timre remarked as he sat beside me.

"What?" I ask, looking at him.

"You still seemed really steamy before my 'joke', what was that all about?" Timre asked.

"It's just that Cesar kept asking me all these questions!" I say, getting a little mad. Timre laughed.

"That's his job, Aspen!" Timre replied while laughing.

"Yeah, I know but why do they all have to be so personal? Can't I have a bit of secrets to myself?" I ask, crossing my arms.

"You're in the Hunger Games, they want to know stuff before you die! Because, you know, I'll win..." Timre joked. I glared at him.

"I mean you will win!" He says with a wide smile when he sees my glaring at him. I laughed, rolling my eyes.

**Hooday! So I really, really, wanted the tributes to go in the actual Hunger Games but decided to do it in the next chapter. I promise in the next chapter they will go into the Games. I don't own the Hunger Games or the image above. **


	7. Chapter 7

"Aspen! Get up! You have to leave in 15 minutes!" Trilly yells from outside my bedroom door. Today is the day, the day I go into the Games. I open my eyes, my whole body felt numb with fear. My heart began to pound with terror, but I gulped hard and toss my blanket off. I sigh before I get up and walk to the shower. While I'm washing my hair all I can think about is where I'll be this time tomorrow. If I'll still be alive this time tomorrow. Once out of the shower, I walk out of my bathroom to my bedroom. I find a mud green tank-top, a black cropped jacket, and black tawny trousers. I'm guessing this is the outfit I'm wearing into the arena. Once I get dressed I walk outside into the living room, which is completely empty. Then a peacekeeper, who seems to have appeared out of nowhere, grabs my arm and leads me to the elevator.

"Wait! I didn't eat breakfast yet," I complain, as try to free my arm from his grasp.

"You were 10 minutes late. We can't afford to lose any more time," He says bluntly as he shoves me into the elevator.

"B-But, I need to say good-bye to everyone!" I continue to complain, trying to get out of the elevator.

"If you had gotten out ten minutes earlier, you could have, but you didn't, so stop complaining," The peacekeeper mutters as he pushes me back inside the elevator and steps beside me. I gulped as I watched him push the lobby button. I got one last look at the living room as the elevator doors closed and down to the lobby we went. The elevator doors opened and the peacekeeper grabbed a hold of my arm.

"You're hurting me!" I say loudly as I try to loosen his grip.

"Good," He replies as he leads me down a hallway. Surprisingly, the entire building seemed silent. It was weird! It seemed that with each step I took, my heart would sink. I was literally heading toward a battlefield, and there was nothing I could do about it. After about ten minutes of walking down hallways and through rooms, the peacekeeper led me outside to the hovercraft. I hesitated, my mouth went dry. My heart began to pound so loud that I thought it would burst!

"Keep moving!" The peacekeeper ordered as he pulled me toward the hovercraft. As we neared the hovercraft, the deafening sound of the hovercraft's propellers got louder and louder.

"W-Wait! I can't!" I stutter as fear began to take over me.

"Go!" The peacekeeper demanded as he squeezed my arm even harder and shoved me toward the hovercraft. I began to breathe heavily with pure horror as I reluctantly walked to the ramp that lead into the hovercraft. I stopped at the bottom of the ramp, staring up into the hovercraft. There were two rows of chairs attached to each side of the hovercraft, and all the other tributes were sitting in them. There was an empty seat across from Timre, whose face lit up when he saw me and he waved me over. My heart lifted slightly to see a smiling face. _"Here goes nothing," _I think to myself as I take a deep breath and walk up the ramp, onto the hovercraft, and to my seat.

"Prepare for takeoff," The pilot said as the ramp began to raise and seal us all inside the hovercraft. I quickly put my seat belt on, which took a few seconds because my hands were shaking. I clutched the side of my seat as the hovercraft began to rise into the air. I've never flown before, so this only added to my stress and terror.

"T-T-Timre!" I stammer in horror. Timre laughed.

"It's okay, Aspen!" He yelled over the sound of the propellers. I closed my eyes tight as the hovercraft swayed left and right until we finally leveled off. I assumed we were very high in the air. I slowly opened my eyes to see Timre laughing his head off.

"That was so awesome!" Timre smiled ear to ear. All the tributes were staring at Timre as if he had lost his mind.

"How could you be this happy right before the Games?" The boy from District 5 asked, looking at Timre. Timre shrugged.

"Because I know I'll win," Timre said matter-of-factly. I shook my head.

"Yeah right, you pipsqueak!" Zeke mocked from the other end of the hovercraft.

"Come at me, bro!" Timre said as he threw his arms up in the air. My jaw dropped as I looked from Timre to Zeke.

"You just wait until the Games, you'll see," Zeke threatened with a smirk. Timre kicked my foot.

"Aspen will protect me," He said as he grinned at me. I just sat there speechless. My heart was pounding, and I was stiff with terror. I was probably pale, too. Zeke glared at me, then scoffed, turning his attention back to his district partner. There was unbelievable tension in the air as we flew to wherever we were going. The only one who seemed not to be bothered by the tension and the thought that half of us could be dead in an hour was obviously Timre, who was humming a tune to a song that I've never heard before. It seemed like an eternity, but finally I could feel the hovercraft lowering to the ground.

"Prepare for landing," The pilot's voice boomed over the sound of the propellers. I took a deep breath, clutching the sides of my seat. Timre burst out laughing again when he saw the fear on my face. I didn't care, though. I closed my eyes tight and held my breath as the hovercraft touched the ground smoothly. I could hear the propellers slowly come to a stop and the ramp began to lower. I opened my eyes to see Timre still laughing. The tributes got up and began to walk in single-file down the ramp. I slowly stood up and followed them, even though my knees felt like jello. As I walked down the ramp, it took my eyes a few moments to adjust to the bright sunlight. Peacekeepers were everywhere, making sure no one tried to run. One of the Peacekeepers grabbed my arm and lead me to a giant building in front of us. Once we were inside the building, the Peacekeeper lead me through a series of hallways until we reached a room, which he shoved me into and slammed the door behind me. I look around the room to see Flash staring at me.

"Hey Aspen," Flash said quietly. I just nodded hello, my mouth was too dry to say anything. Flash walked over and handed me a pair of black boots.

"Put 'em on," He says firmly. I nodded and put them on. As I put them on, I noticed a big, clear tube that went into the ceiling; which I guessed was the way I would get into the arena.

"Wait," Flash _says_ as he walks behind me. He quickly put my hair into a fish-braid.

"There," He says as he spins me around to face him.

"Flash, tell Ruby, Woof, and Trilly that I said bye," I say with a shaky voice.

"You didn't say good-bye to them?" Flash asked, crossing his arms.

"No, I didn't have the chance," I said quietly.

"Thirty seconds," A voice boomed through the loudspeakers. I gasped and began to breathe quickly as my heart leaped into my throat.

"Hey, hey, hey," Flash says in a calm voice. I looked at him with wide eyes.

"You'll be fine, it's going to be okay," He said as he motioned for me to get into the tube. As I neared the tube, the tube's doors opened. My whole body was shaking with pure terror as I stepped into the huge tube. I gulped hard as I looked up to see that to my dismay, the tube lead outside. I spun around when I heard the tube doors closing.

My heart sank as I realized that there was no escape now. I was officially in the Hunger Games, and there was nothing I could do about it. Flash just stared at me as the floor of the tube began to rise, making me slowly go up toward the opening. The platform stopped once I was at the top. I looked around to see all the other tributes beside me on their platforms. The next thing I noticed was the big, silver cornucopia in front of us. It was stocked with weapons, but there were a few backpacks as well. I then looked around to see the area that we were placed in was swamp-themed, which was a huge disadvantage for me since I'm from District 8, were there is no plant life or vegetation. And the most water I've ever been in was a bathtub. I then turned my attention the the animated countdown in front of us. We had 60 seconds left. I tried to slow down my breathing by taking long, deep breaths. In 60 seconds there would be a blood-bath, and I could be dead. I glanced over at Timre, who was a few platforms away. He was looking directly at me. What was in his eyes? Could it have been... fear? One thing I've never seen from Timre was fear. Confusion, sadness, yes; but never fear. Then I broke eye contact and looked back at the countdown. 40 seconds left.

My heart began racing as I remembered Ruby's advice._ "Don't get attached too the tributes, even Timre," _Ruby's voice echoed through my mind. I took a quick glance back at Timre, who was still staring at me._ "...But when the countdown was done, and everyone ran for the supplies, he was the first one to die," _I remembered Ruby say. Then it hit me. Timre could die in the blood-bath too, and I couldn't protect him if I was going to make it out alive. I began breathing quickly again as everything began to really sink in. I didn't even have a plan! Then I remembered what Ruby had said,_ "And whatever you do, don't run for the supplies,"_. I clenched my jaw, I knew the worst possible thing to do was go for the weapons in the cornucopia, but I also knew that since I had such a disadvantage, I'd die if I didn't.

15 seconds left. I glanced over at Stearic, who was far away at the last platform. He was tense, and staring right at the machetes. And then, for some reason, I wondered what my aunt was doing back home. I wondered what she was thinking, since she was probably watching me on the televisions. Suddenly I felt homesick. I could be home, but instead I was here. I look back at the clock, there was 7 seconds left. I ready myself in the running position and glance over at Timre again. He had his eyes fixed on the swamp. And I knew right then that he wouldn't go for the supplies, bringing a weird feeling of relief over me. But I didn't have time to worry about Timre. "5... 4... 3..." The countdown echoed through the air. I took a deep breath, preparing myself for what was about to happen. "2... 1,".

The gong rang so loud that all the terrified shrieks of the tributes were drowned out. I sprang off the platform and ran as fast as I possibly could toward the cornucopia, despite what Ruby had said. Everything seemed to go in slow motion as it seemed that mostly everyone had the same idea to go get weapons. But I wasn't going for the weapons, I was going for the supplies. I could see Zeke out of the corner of my eye grabbing a sword and spinning around to stab the boy from District 2. The blood-bath had begun. Everyone crowded into the cornucopia, grabbing weapons and killing anyone they could. Screams and shrieks echoed through the air as tributes began to die. I finally reached the cornucopia and grabbed a backpack, which was next to a rack of knives. I swung the backpack over my shoulder as fast as I could, and grabbed a large knife with my free hand. I spun around only to be face-to-face with the boy from District 12. He was tall and toned, but there was no mercy in his eyes. He hadn't gotten his weapon yet, so he grabbed my neck and smashed me onto the ground.

"Prepare to die!" He hissed as he tightened his grip on my neck. I gasped for air, but clutched my knife firmly in my hand. I then raised my arm and drove the knife into his bicep. He let out a yelp of pain as he let go of my neck. I quickly ripped my knife out of his arm and scrambled to my feet, racing for the woods. "No you don't!" He shouted as he ran after me. As I ran, I glanced back to see that he was gaining on me. I let out a scream of fear as I tried to run faster. Suddenly, he lunged at me, knocking me back to the ground.

"Ow!" I shout as I spin onto my back and try to kick him. I kicked his face a few times, but he grabbed my feet, stood up, and began to drag me across the ground to get me off guard. As he dragged me, my backpack fell off!

"No!" I screamed as I tried to grab it.

"You're dead meat, 8!" He snarled as he let my feet go and tried to grab the knife out of my hand.

"No! Wait! You can't!" I stutter as he rips the knife out of my hand and raises his arm to stab my head. I quickly put my arms around my head, trying to block it. Just before he got my head, I kicked his feet out from under him, making him collapse beside me. The knife sliced my left cheek, but at least it wasn't my head. I winced but quickly grabbed the knife out of his hand, ramming it into his back. I looked up to see Zeke and a few other tributes running towards us, each of them with a heavy weapon. I grabbed the knife out of 12's back, hearing him groan with pain.

"I'm sorry!" I shout as I scramble to my feet and flat out run toward the swamp. As I passed my backpack, I reached down and swung it onto my shoulder. I raced into the swamp, Zeke and his pals hot on my tail. I screamed as I zigzagged through the dense trees. It got harder to run as I got deeper into the swamp. Water gushed through the damp moss as I ran through the swamp. A few of Zeke's friends stopped chasing me after a few minutes, but for some weird reason, Zeke had a determined look on his face.

"You're going down!" Zeke smirked as he raced after me. I glanced back at him, than focused on running. Zeke began laughing as he gained on me. My heart was pounding with fear as I dodged trees and tried to run as fast as I could through the mud. I took another glance back at Zeke, realizing that he was gaining on me.

"Oh no!" I hiss through clenched teeth as I leap over a log. Zeke sailed over the log with ease and as soon as his feet hit the ground, he sprinted toward me. I look back at him again, my eyes wide with fear. Suddenly, I couldn't feel the ground under my feet! I look forward to realize that I had just ran directly off a cliff!

I screamed in horror as I fell toward the ground. The air whipped my braid in my face, making it hard to see. I frantically tried to grab a hold something, but there was nothing to grab. I look down as the ground gets closer and closer until suddenly, BAM! I smashed onto the ground harshly. But what I didn't know, was that there was a sharp stick wedged into the ground. And I just landed directly on it! As I hit the ground, the stick went into my hip. I let out a wail as my entire side went numb from the pain. I slowly sat up, looking down to see the stick firmly lodged in my hip. Blood began to gush out of the wound. I let out a shriek of pain and disgust. I looked up to see Zeke standing on the edge of the cliff, smirking down at me. Then to my dismay, I realized that he had a spear in his hand. He raised his arm, aiming his spear at me. Even though my side was aching, I sprang to my feet and began to run/limp deeper into the swamp.

As I ran, tears fell down my cheeks from the pain in my hip. I could tell that I was losing blood because I began to get light-headed. After a few minutes, I stopped to catch my breath and examine the wound. The stick was still deep in my hip, and blood was everywhere. But luckily, I don't think the stick hit anything too important. I then glanced up to see a small, dark cave in front of me. _"I've got to get this thing out, and that cave seems pretty safe. For now." _I think to myself. I slowly limped to the cave, which was dark and damp. I walked to the very back and sank to my knees, looking at the stick. "This is going to hurt," I mumble to myself. I gingerly grab the stick with both hands, shut my eyes tight, and yanked it out with all my might! I let out a blood-curdling scream of pain and leaned against the cave and I cover my wound. My whole body was aching from falling off the cliff, but my hip hurt the most. The pain was unbearable! I groaned in pain as everything got fuzzy. Slowly, everything got darker and darker until everything went black. I had passed out.

**HOODAY! So... I finally got to the real Games, plz review if you loved or if you hated it. I don't own the Hunger Games or the image above. I'll update soon, buh-bye!**


	8. Chapter 8

Pain. That was all I felt as I slowly opened my eyes, awakening from passing out. I blinked, letting my eyes adjust to the darkness. I had no idea how long I had been lying there, but it was late in the night. I paused for a second. _"I feel... wet!" _I thought to myself as I looked over to my side. I gasped when I realized I was lying in a pool of blood, which was gushing from my hip! I gulped, feeling uncoordinated and confused. Then I remembered the cliff, my hip, and that I had found the cave right before I went unconscious. I took a deep breath, closing my eyes again. My side was throbbing with pain, and I was still very light-headed. _"Get up, Aspen, get up!" _I thought to myself as I opened my eyes and attempted to sit up. All of the sudden, a huge wave of unbelievable pain swept over me, forcing me to wail and flop back onto my back. Every bone in my body was aching, obviously from the fall. Not to mention, my hip was killing me.

"Oh gosh!" I whispered as I began to weep. I remembered the faces of some tributes and their screams during the blood bath, the dead bodies scattered around. I remembered Zeke's smirk as he tried to kill me. Then I remembered back to when my aunt told my she had cancer when I was in the Justice Building. That was the first time in months that she was nice to me, normally she was short tempered and cold. I didn't mind though, she was like a mother to me. I began to cry louder as all these emotions flooded through me, but I tried not to. I knew that the other tributes might hear me, so I tried to stop crying.

"I don't want to be in the Games! I want to go home!" I whispered through clenched teeth. I took a deep breath, calming myself down. I quickly wiped the tears away from my eyes, then attempted to sit up again. The pain was almost unbearable, but I managed to sit up. Once I did, my head began spinning. I had lost a lot of blood, and I had to stop the bleeding somehow. I paused for a minute, staring at my bleeding hip. _"Backpack!" _I thought to myself as I remembered I had my backpack! I quickly reached behind me, pulling it off of my shoulder. I then unzipped the backpack, looking to see what was inside. I pulled out some dried-out fruit, a piece of cheese, an empty water canteen, some thin wire, and a little jar. I quickly set aside the other things and grabbed the thin wire.

"Perfect," I said to myself as I untangled it. I then bit off the end, making a sharp point in the wire. I took a deep breath, knowing it would hurt; but it had to be done. I slowly began to stitch up the wound, wincing in pain. The stitches weren't even or pretty, but they closed the wound and stopped the bleeding. For now, at least. I took a few minutes to get used to the pain, and the stiffness now in my hip. It felt weird, but at least I wouldn't bleed to death. Then, I noticed the knife I had used to stab the guy from 12-who had attacked me-lying on the ground beside me. I reached out and grabbed it, twirling it in my hands. It was a big knife! I frowned, closing my eyes and leaning my head against the wall of the cave. Then suddenly, I heard a twig snap! I instantly opened my eyes, leaning forward and looking at the entrance of the cave. It was dark outside, so it was hard to see. I held my breath, trying not to make a sound. _"Maybe I just imagined it..."_ I thought to myself. But a few moments later, I heard another twig snap. I silently staggered to my feet, wincing as pain swept over me. I held in a wail, but my eyes teared up. The wind howled through the trees, and frogs croaked in the distance. An eerie feeling came over me as I stared at the entrance. I clutched the knife firmly in my palm, waiting to see if someone dared come into my cave.

I stood there for about two minutes, never taking my eyes off of the entrance of the cave. Someone was there, I just knew it. Chills ran down my spine as I took a step toward the entrance. I tightened my grip on the knife I was holding, making my knuckles turn white. My body was still aching, but I was so frightened that I seemed to forget the pain for a moment. Suddenly, a dark figure stepped into the entrance. It was too dark to see who it was, but it was a boy and he was tall. My heart skipped a beat!

"Get away from me!" I screech as I lunge at the figure. I swung my knife at him, but he grabbed my arm. I desperately tried to get free, but he was a lot stronger than me. _"This is pathetic!" _I thought to myself.

"You're not going to get me, nuh-uh!" I shout as I punch him in the face with my free arm. He staggered backwards a few steps, holding his nose.

"You punched my nose!" The boy yells. I recognized the voice!

"S-Stearic?" I ask slowly, still braced for if he tried to attack me.

"Hey Aspen," Stearic says quietly.

"What are you doing here?" I ask, relaxing slowly.

"I didn't know you were here, I just saw the cave and thought it was safe, till miss crazy person attacked me!" Stearic grinned, shrugging. I exhaled loudly, letting all my fear out.

"You gave me a heart-attack!" I say, crossing my arms. Stearic stared at me for a second, his expression changing from joking to concerned.

"What happened to you?" He asked slowly, pointing toward me hip. I paused for a second, blushing.

"Oh, oh that... Uh... I just fell, no big deal!" I stammer, looking at my feet. Stearic stared at me. _  
_

"It is a big deal!" He said, glancing at my blood-drenched shirt. I just smiled slightly and shrugged. _  
_

"This isn't funny, you're really hurt!" Stearic says as he walks closer to me.

"I took care of it," I said, shrugging. Stearic didn't look convinced.

"And what happened to your face?" He asked, taking another step closer to me. I paused remembering when the boy from 12 had sliced my left cheek with his knife.

"Guy from 12 got me," I say, backing up a step when Stearic moved forward. Stearic frowned, looking concerned.

"Well, welcome to my cave," I say as I walk back inside the cave. Stearic followed me. Suddenly, I stopped in my tracks and turned around to face him.

"You're not going to kill me, right?" I say slowly, looking him right in the eye. Stearic smiled widely.

"Now why would I hurt a pretty face like you?" He said slyly. I glared at him.

"If you dare try to kill me, I will punch you again," I said with a hint of sarcasm in my voice. Stearic laughed, picking up on my joke. We walked into the cave and sat down.

* * *

"Got any food?" Stearic asked as he sat across from me.

"A little, here," I say as I hand him a few of the dried fruits from my backpack. Stearic smiled gratefully.

"Thanks, Aspen," He said quietly as he popped a few into his mouth. I nodded and ate some of the fruit myself.

"So, does this mean we're allies now?" I asked as I look over at him. Stearic thought for a minute.

"Guess so," He shrugs. We sat there, eating for a few minutes.

"You know, I'm really relieved that you're okay. In the blood bath, I glanced over to see you running into the swamp followed by Zeke and a few other people," Stearic remarked. I shrugged.

"He chased me off of a cliff," I say as I look down at my dried fruit. Stearic raised his eyebrows.

"And... You didn't see the cliff in front of you?" He asked slowly. I laughed.

"I was looking behind me at Zeke!" I say with a grin. Stearic laughed along.

"So, who died in the blood bath?" I ask quietly. Stearic sighed and leaned back.

"Timre made it out alright, I saw him running through the swamp trying to act like a monster emerging from the mud," Stearic said, shaking his head.

"He did that?" I asked, shocked. But I was relieved that he was okay.

"Something's wrong with that kid, no one does that in the Games," Stearic said as he shook his head. I laughed, shaking my head as well. Suddenly, cannons began to sound, making both Stearic and I jump. There were 13 cannons that went off. I looked down at my feet, knowing what the cannons meant. 13 tributes had died. Stearic and I stayed quiet for a while.

"I guess we should get some sleep, we need our strength for tomorrow. I'm going to try to find some prey to hunt," Stearic said, breaking the silence. I stared at him for a second.

"Prey as in deer," He added, seeing my confused face.

"Oh, okay. I'll take the first watch," I say, staggering to my feet, wincing slightly. Stearic shook his head.

"No way, I'll take first watch, you sleep," He said as he stood up and walked to the entrance of the cave. I nodded and sat back down. I leaned against the wall of the cave, watching Stearic. I guess I trusted Stearic, but there was a little voice in the back of my head telling me not to. I frowned, studying him. His back was toward me as he stared out into the night. The wind howled as if it was a lullaby. My eyes began to droop as I watched Stearic. There was something about him that I couldn't figure out. Something about him that hinted not to trust him. Was I just being paranoid? Should I trust him? My eyes slowly closed as I drifted off to sleep.

**Hooday! So... I wanted to say thank you to everyone who followed, faved, and reviewed. So, I'll try to update soon and plz review. I don't own the Hunger Games or the image above. HUGS! NOT DRUGS! :D**


	9. Chapter 9

"Aspen!" A voice said softly, making me shift onto my side in my sleep.

"Aspen..."

"Wha... what?" I mutter, opening my eyes slowly. Stearic was kneeling beside me.

"It's morning," He said quietly, nodding toward the entrance of the cave. I sat up, realizing it was early morning. The sun was just beginning to peak above the trees, casting little rays of light into the once dark cave. It couldn't be later than 6:00. I stretched, yawning. All through the night, Stearic and I had been taking turns going on watch while the other slept.

I slowly stood up, wincing slightly. My hip was still terribly sore, but at least it wasn't bleeding. The stitches that I did were still strong and kept the wound shut tightly. Stearic stood up as well, walking out of the cave.

"I have something to show you," Stearic remarked as he gently yet firmly grabbed my arm and led me into the swamp. I followed him quickly, but there was an irritating little voice in the back of my head screaming that something was wrong._ "This could be a trap."_ I thought. I bit my lower lip, trying to shake the thought. _"Stearic would never hurt me." _I argue with myself.

"It's not far," Stearic adds as we walk. The swamp was even more damp than normal, because it was morning. Dew was sprinkled on all the trees and moss. My feet made squishy sounds whenever I took a step because of the wet earth. I looked up at the sky, which was grey with clouds. Yet the sun peeked out ever so often, brightening the arena. Then suddenly, a raindrop fell onto my hand. To my surprise, it stung!

"That's weird," I mumble as I shake the raindrop off. Stearic looked back at me.

"What?" He asked curiously.

"A raindrop fell on me and it hurt," I say, raising my eyebrow. Stearic looked confused. Then, another raindrop fell. And another, and another! Each stung horribly! I looked down at my arm where the raindrops had fallen, realizing that some smoke was coming off of the raindrops. Stearic frowned.

"They made the rain broiling hot!" He proclaims in surprise. I look at him, wide-eyed.

"Can they do that?" I ask, shocked. He nodded.

"It's an arena, of course they can!" Stearic replies as he begins to run. The rain began to pour down on top of us, burning our skin. It hurt so badly that tears came to my eyes! It felt like I was in a giant pot of boiling water. We had to find shelter. And fast! Heavy tree branches became weighed down by the water and softened by the heat, making them break and fall in our path.

"Look out!" Stearic yells as he leaps out of the way of a falling branch. It barely missed him; if it had hit him, he'd be crushed! We ran, dodging the branches as best we could.

"We have to get back to the cave!" I shout over the roar of the broiling rain. The rain was only getting hotter with each minute. Now, when it hit, the raindrops would burn a little hole in your clothes! I shrieked in pain as I was drenched in hot water. We finally made it back into the cave, and just in time. I don't think I could take the rain if it got any hotter. In the distance, screams and screeches echoed through the air. It was the other tributes, I hoped they could find shelter!

Stearic and I were breathing heavily from the sprint back to the cave. I frowned when I saw that there were little pea-sized holes in my jacket.

"Great," I mutter under my breath.

"What?" Stearic asked while gasping to catch his breath.

"I got holes in my only jacket!" I reply, frowning. Stearic grinned, chuckling.

"We barely made it into the cave alive, and you're worried about your clothes? Typical girl," He joked. I smiled, realizing how dumb I must have sounded. Stearic then shook his head, sending water everywhere. I paused, gulping hard. Stearic looked incredibly handsome, and he was talking to a girl like me! I wondered if he liked me. I mean, I know he's made a few comments about how he thought I was pretty, but maybe he was just joking. What if he didn't like me? What if he was just trying to make me like him so I wouldn't kill him in the Games? What if-

"Aspen?" Stearic asked, interrupting my thoughts.

"Hmm?" I replied, pausing.

"You okay? You're staring at me," He said slowly, looking at me with his hazel eyes. I cleared my throat.

"Oh, sorry... I-I was just... You have something in your hair," I stutter an excuse, saying the first thing that came to mind. I could feel all the blood rush to my cheeks as I blushed, so I quickly looked down so he wouldn't see.

"Oh," Stearic laughed, shrugging. Suddenly, a cannon went off! I jumped, taking a big bite of a reality sandwich. I was in the Hunger Games, I didn't have time for a school-girl crush.

Then, chills ran down my spine. "_What if the cannon was Timre?"_ I thought to myself as my heart skipped a beat! I had forgotten about Timre! The rain had stopped, it must have stopped while I was daydreaming. I scrambled out of the cave, looking at the sky to catch a glimpse of who had died. Just as I did, a picture of the girl from District 5 came up. I took a deep breath, but at least it wasn't Timre. I then looked around. The swamp had steam swirling around the air from the heat of the rain colliding with the cool dew. I could still hear the sizzling of some of the hot wood and plants that had been burned by the scorching rain. _  
_

"Good grief," I mutter, frowning.

"Guess my surprise is ruined," Stearic remarked from inside the cave. I spun around, looking at him.

"Oh yeah! What was your surprise?" I asked curiously. Stearic shrugged.

"I found some raccoons in the swamp today; figured it would be a good breakfast," He said with a sigh.

"They're probably scorched by now," He added. I grinned.

"Well, I guess we'll be having some very well-done raccoon today," I say as I marched into the woods followed by Stearic.

* * *

Stearic and I were walking through the damp swamp to find the raccoons when suddenly, Stearic grabbed my arm.

"What?" I asked, looking over my shoulder at him. He pointed to the left. I wrinkled my eyebrows, looking to where he was pointing. I almost threw up when I saw what was there. The girl from District 5 was lying underneath a huge branch which had fallen and pinned her to the ground. I slowly, cautiously walked over to get a better look. There were burns all over her body; almost all of her hair was burned off. Steam was coming off of her lifeless body, and in some places, the broiling rain had burned through her skin. It was disgusting!

"Guess she didn't find shelter," Stearic remarked quietly.

"What a horrible way to die! Boiled by the rain!" I proclaim, staring in shock.

"We should go, the hovercraft will be here any minute to pick her up," Stearic said as he grabbed my arm, pulling me behind him as he kept walking. I was still in shock, I remembered her from before. I talked to her once at the Training Center! She had big green eyes and long brown hair. She was nice, but she had a weird squeaky voice. She told me that the poison I had made when I first met Stearic was impressive because it was apparently very lethal. Then, Stearic stopped.

"Bon appetit," He remarks as he nods toward a dead, steaming raccoon. I force a smile, though the raccoon looked disgusting.

"Wow," Is all that would come out.

"Well, lets dig in," Stearic says slowly, picking up the dead raccoon, which was soaked with the hot rain. Then suddenly, BAM! Someone punched the back of my head, making me collapse. It almost knocked me unconscious, but I fought to stay awake.

"HEY!" Stearic shouted as he grabbed a knife from his belt. The boy from District 1 stepped over me, glaring at Stearic. Stearic lunged at him, making them both fall to the ground. The boy grasped Stearic's neck, trying to crush his windpipe. Stearic gagged, but then suddenly, the boy let out a yelp of pain. His arms limply fell to the ground, he was dead. Stearic was breathing heavily, still gagging from being choked. He flipped the District 1 boy onto his side, revealing a knife in his lung. Stearic had stabbed him.

"You okay, Aspen?" He coughed as he grabbed the knife and stumbled over to me. The cannon went off, echoing through the swamp.

"Yeah," I whisper. I was dizzy and my head was throbbing, but I was fine. Stearic nodded, rubbing his throat. I slowly sat up, placing my hand on my head.

"Thanks," I said slowly. Stearic nodded. I reached over and grabbed the raccoon, putting it in my backpack.

"Lets eat it later, I'm not very hungry," I said, glancing over at the boy from District 1.

**Hooday! So... thank you SO much to everyone who reviewed and faved etc, I know this was a short chapter but I didn't have much time to write it. Had a migraine today. NOT fun! Hope you liked it and I'll try to update soon. I do not own the Hunger Games, the image above, or my good lookin' self! JUST KIDDING! but seriously, I don't own the Hunger Games.**


	10. Chapter 10

I think about the boy from District 1 as I walk back to the cave. I wondered what he was like, what his name was. But now he was dead, and I'm allied with the boy who killed him. I frowned as all these thoughts whirred around in my mind.

"My skin hurts," a deep voice jolted me out of my thoughts. I turned around, looking at Stearic.

"What?" I asked slowly.

"I have blisters from the stupid rain," Stearic muttered, frowning.

"Think you'll live?" I ask with a little smirk. Stearic grinned slightly.

After a few minutes, we reached the cave. It was around noon now, and the sun was beginning to beat down on us. My forehead was just beginning to get moist with sweat when I walked into the cave. The cave was nice and cool, but damp. I plopped down on the ground, setting my backpack next to me. I carefully unzipped it, pulling out the dead raccoon. I gagged when I saw it! It was broiled so most of the fur was burned off, and it stank horribly! I set it aside, covering my nose.

"That is so disgusting," I mumble under my breath.

"Nine," Stearic said from the entrance of the cave. I cast him a strange look.

"Pardon?" I ask, raising my eyebrow.

"There's nine of us left," Stearic replied, leaning against the wall of the cave casually. I gulped hard, looking down.

"Oh..." I remark quietly. I fumbled with my fingers. I hated this. I hated every bit of this! I hated the Games, I hated the jerks who enjoyed watching it, I hated the swamp, I hated the heat, I hated everything!

"What's wrong with you?" Stearic asked, breaking me out of my concentration.

"What?" I ask as my mind raced to figure out what he was talking about.

"You look like it's the end of the world," He laughed, seeing my confused expression. I wanted to laugh at his joke, but I just couldn't. I just stared at him for a second as it seemed like everything was sinking in. A lump formed in my throat as I put my head in my hands. _"I'm not going to cry, I'm not going to cry!" _I thought, willing myself to not break down in tears. Thankfully, I didn't cry. I couldn't cry, this was the Hunger Games! Crying was a major sign of weakness, and I couldn't afford to have people think I was weak. Even though I have already broken down at least twice... Yeah, I'm a wimp.

* * *

I just got done eating the horrible, _horrible _raccoon. Stearic and I had split the raccoon, and right now I wanted to throw up more than anything! I gagged as I swallowed the last bite of the raccoon.

"That is so terrible!" I hiss through clenched teeth. Stearic nodded, having the same look of disgust.

"Definitely doesn't taste like chicken," He muttered, wiping his mouth with his sleeve. Stearic turned his attention to the entrance of the cave.

"What time do you think it is?" He asked curiously. I bit my lip, looking at the brightness of the sunlight.

"I would say... Two-ish?" I replied, leaning against the wall of the cave. Suddenly, Stearic jumped to his feet, looking alarmed.

"What?" I ask, tensing slightly.

"Uhh... N-Nothing. Hey, why don't you uh..." He stammered, his eyes frantically searching the ground. His gaze settled on the empty canteen beside my backpack. He reached down and picked it up, handing it to me, "find some water and bring some back?"

"Now?" I frowned, slightly confused. Stearic nodded and smiled, as if trying to act casual.

"Yeah, we're going to need it. Afternoon is supposed to be when the swamp is hottest," He replied. I narrowed my eyes at him.

"Okay... What are you going to do?" I said, taking the empty water canteen and staggering to my feet. A flash of pain shot through my hip as I did, but at least the wound was healing. Stearic shrugged.

"I guess I'll try to find something to eat, maybe see if there are some weapons I can find in the cornucopia," Stearic answered as he promptly left the cave. I watched him go, my eyes narrow. _"Something's off." _I think to myself with a frown. I gripped the canteen tightly in my palm as I headed out of the cave in search of water.

Have you ever been in a swamp when it's two in the afternoon? Don't. It's extremely hot and very humid, so humid that it's kind of hard to breathe! I wiped some sweat off of my forehead as I waded through the swamp. I felt sticky with sweat, and the ground was so soft that my feet kept sinking into the damp moss. I wasn't used to this at all, because I'm from District 8. I've never felt what grass feels like, I've never seen a tree, I have absolutely no idea what moss is or why it's here, and I'm definitely not used to so much water or heat. But one thing I do know, is that it isn't hard to find water in a swamp. I kept falling over from the unevenness of the ground, and I was so tired! It isn't easy to walk through a swamp if you've never been in one before. I also felt dirty, and not in the "lets go partying!" kind of way.

Eventually, I came to a river. To get to this river, however, I had to wade through knee-deep mud! Already exhausted, I try to walk to toward the river. "Slurp! Slush! Slurp!" echoed through the air as my feet sank into the mud. _"No tributes better be around, because I'm being as loud as a firetruck!"_ I think to myself. I was now completely drenched in mud from the waist down. Hot, sticky mud! Finally I made it to the river. Breathing heavily, I fell to my knees as I stuck the canteen under the gentle water. Once the canteen was full, I lifted it out and secured the cap. I then cupped my hands, dipped them in the river, and brought them to my lips. It felt strangely amazing to drink the cool water. I glanced around to make sure no one was around to kill me, then I threw caution to the wind and dunked my entire head into the cold river.

It was a weird, wonderful sensation to feel the icy water gush around my head. I've never had enough water to dunk my head under. Never! I then lifted my head out of the water, grinning.

"That was so weird!" I laugh, wiping some water away from my eyes. Then I bit my lip, smirking. I stood up, slowly wading into the cold river. Tell you one thing, I wasn't hot anymore! I smiled, it felt so weird to be in so much water! I walked in until I was forced to swim. Then, my eyes widened. _"I don't know how to swim!" _I think to myself as I flail my arms around, trying to swim. After a few moments, the toe of my shoes hit the sand on the shallow part of the river. I just stood there for a second, grinning. I was in a river. Aspen Darnell was in a river! A real river! Well... If I think about it, technically the Capitol made it... But still! Almost real!

"Sluurrrp!" Suddenly echoed through the air. I jumped slightly, looking around to find what made the sound. My heart began racing as my eyes searched everywhere. Then my eyes settled on a scrawny, red headed kid a few feet up the river. He was face-first in the river, drinking heartily like a dog. I let out a shriek of surprise, not knowing who it was. I then instantly covered my mouth, regretting that I had ever made a sound. The kid jerked his head up in surprise, his grey eyes wide with shock. I don't know how I didn't recognize him before, it was Timre! For some reason, I was still tense with fear as our eyes met.

"T-Timre!" I yell with a slight smile. It was good to see my only friend! Well, besides Stearic. To my surprise, Timre scrambled to his feet and ran like there was no tomorrow into the swamp, disappearing from sight. I paused, staring in the direction that he had ran. _"Did Timre just run away from me? Why did he run away from me?!" _I think to myself as I wade out of the river. I crawled onto shore, standing up and wringing out my fish braid. I was still in shock that Timre had ran. Was he afraid of me? Did he even recognize me?

I grabbed the now-full canteen and made my way back to the cave. The heat was fierce, but I was still cool from the river. After about 20 minutes of walking, I figured I was close to the cave. I was swinging the canteen when suddenly, something caught my attention. I stopped in my tracks when I heard the faint sound of voices whisper through the air. I tensed, looking in every direction, but I couldn't see anyone. The voices were so faint that I couldn't even tell which way they were coming from! If I ran one way, I could be running toward them. So I decided to play it safe and not move. I craned my neck, trying to listen or at least pick up on a few words.

"She isn't even that dangerous," A soft voice whispered.

"I'm telling you that she is, I can feel it," Another replied ever so quietly. I narrowed my eyes, wondering who they were talking about.

"And what about that little runt? The District 4 bro?" The voice hissed. "He's probably the biggest threat here, besides me!"

"I'll take care of him,"

"You'd better,"

"I will,"

"For your sake, you had better be telling the truth,"

I clutched the canteen tightly, thinking about the boy from District 4. He was a big threat! He was huge and very, very smart. Almost everyone was afraid of him! From what I know, he's still alive. Then to my dismay, I heard a twig snap beside me! _"I forgot to grab my knife before I left!"_ I think to myself as I realize the only weapon I have is my canteen. Does a canteen count as a weapon? I don't know, but that's all I had. I instinctively take off running at a sprint in the direction of the cave. I could hear footsteps behind me, as if someone was chasing me. _"Remember what happened when Zeke was chasing you and you looked back, don't make the same mistake twice!" _I think to myself as I raced through the swamp. After a few moments, I realized that the footsteps behind me had stopped! Had they stopped chasing me? I took a daring, deep breath and spun around, tense and braced for if the person attacked me. But to my surprise, no one was there! I gulped hard, frantically looking in every direction for the person. But there was no sign of them! Had... had I imagined the whole thing?

* * *

Finally, the cave came into view as I neared it. I walked into the cave, seeing Stearic all the way in the back skinning a few rats. He glanced over his shoulder at me, smiling when he recognized me.

"Hey there!" He said in a friendly tone of voice. I didn't make eye contact with him. All I could think about were the mysterious voices I had heard. Who were they?

"Hey," I replied quietly. I tossed the canteen-full of water-to Stearic, which he quickly caught.

"I saw Timre at the river," I say, glancing at the skinned rats.

"Did he push you in?" Stearic joked. I paused, confused. I was still thinking about the voices. I gave him a strange look, having no idea what he was talking about.

"You're soaked," Stearic said slowly, seeing how confused I was. I looked down, realizing that I was dripping with water.

"Oh, yeah... Look at that," I stammer, shrugging.

"Well did he?"

"No, he ran away,"

Stearic paused, setting the knife that he had been skinning the rats with aside. He looked amused.

"Weren't you two buddies?" He asked, chuckling. I narrowed my eyes, offended that he thought it was so funny.

"Yeah, he was my friend. He's like my little brother, and he looked really scared of me. I don't see why you think it's so amusing," I say coldly, turning my back to him and sitting down. Stearic was still chuckling, but he put his hand over his mouth to try and hide it.

"Oh, gee, I'm sorry," He said, clearing his throat.

"Whatever," I say harshly. I had enough of Stearic and his sarcastic self. For all I know, Timre could be die in the next five minutes, and Stearic was making fun of him. We sat in silence for a few minutes as Stearic began to continue skinning the dead rats. Suddenly, Stearic burst into laughter.

"I'm sorry, I just can't let this go. Why are you friends with that little dweeb anyway?" He said through his laughter. I glared at him. Anger boiled inside of me. Timre was like my best friend here, like a little brother to me. He wasn't very strong and as far as I know, he doesn't have the best chance of winning. I guess I felt kind of responsible for him. I casually stood up and walked over to Stearic. He looked up at me with his hazel eyes, still laughing. I narrowed my eyes and slapped him across his face as hard as I could. Shocked, Stearic held his cheek.

"Did you really just do that?" Stearic says as he stands up, towering over me. I'm kind of intimidated, but I was too angry to care. Someone had to stand up for Timre, people couldn't just think he was useless because he wasn't as old or as strong as them.

"Yeah! I did! Watch, I'll do it again!" I hiss as I slap him with a backhand. Stearic just stood there, glaring at me, as if daring me to do it again. I wanted to punch him this time, but I chomped down on my lower lip instead.

"He might be scrawny, but he's stronger than you could ever hope to be! You're just a jerk!" I shout as I march toward the entrance of the cave. Stearic opened his mouth, as if about to snap something back, but he held his peace. For some strange reason, I felt like I had to dig it in once more. I spun around, looking him right in the eye.

"And he's sure better looking!" I hiss and I storm out into the swamp. Stearic's eyes widened in offense, but he didn't say anything. I marched into the swamp, feeling a lot better now that I had let all my anger vent out. But I had only been walking for a few minutes when I felt a harsh hand grasp my arm, forcing me to stop. Startled, I spun my head around to be face-to-face with Stearic. I took in a sharp breath, wondering what he was going to do. Fierce anger was in Stearic's eyes, but his voice was calm and gentle.

"I'm sorry," He said softly, slowly loosening his grip on my arm. I inwardly let out a sigh of relief that we were still friends. I could tell that Stearic was offended and angry, but he was trying not to be.

"You're right, I shouldn't have said that about the kid. I'm sorry, Aspen," Stearic said, dropping his eyes to the ground. I shrugged.

"You're forgiven, and his name is Timre, not 'kid'," I say slowly, "and if you make one more crack about him, this alliance is over," I say softly but firmly. Stearic nodded, not making eye contact.

"Okay," I say quietly. We silently walked back to the cave. Soon, it would be night and we would have to go to sleep, risking our lives for a few hours of rest.

**Hooday! So... sorry I haven't updated in a long time. I just wasn't really up to making an another chapter, but... I made one anyway! :D So... thank you to everyone who reviewed, followed, and faved! It really means a lot! So... please tell me what you think in reviews and I'll try to update this week. buh-bye!**


	11. Chapter 11

I sat in the cave, tossing the water canteen back and forth between my hands. A few hours earlier, I had slapped Stearic. Twice. Now it was evening, and the swamp was finally cooling down. Frogs croaked in the distance, it sounded like there were hundreds of them. And unfortunately, evening is mosquitoes' favorite time of the day. For the past fifteen minutes I've been slapping the daylights out of my arms when the stupid bugs landed on me.

"Blahh! Get away from me!" I said aloud as I wave my arms in the air, trying to shoo them away. I wasn't used to mosquitoes! They looked like long sticks that had wings and would suck your blood. Finally, I stood up and walked out of the cave; away from the mosquitoes. Or so I thought. My arms were already itchy from the bug bites before, and now there were hundreds of mosquitoes everywhere!

"Ohmigosh!" I huff and I storm back into the cave. There was no escaping the little demons! I crossed my arms, looking at the ground. Then it hit me. _"Where is Stearic?" _I think to myself as I look around. He wasn't here! Where had he gone? How long had he even been gone? And why did I not notice this before?!

"Stearic?" I say rather loudly as I cautiously walk to the entrance of the cave, looking around. No reply.

"Stearic! Where did you go?" I mutter under my breath as I grab my knife and my jacket. I paused before I swung it on. Would I rather be hot and sweaty or covered in mosquito bites? Ehh... I hate bug bites. I swung the jacket on and made my way out in search of my ally partner. I stopped in my tracks when something caught my eye.

"Footprints!" I whisper to myself, spotting the silhouette of a shoe print in the soft ground. I cautiously began to follow them, only hoping that they belonged to Stearic, my friend. Well, was he my friend? There was something about him that just I don't trust, yet I can't put my finger on it. He's always been nice to me, but there was just something weird about the whole situation! Why in the world did he come up to me in the Training Center? Obviously, I wasn't very good at anything except poison; which I hadn't tried until after I met him. So why did he want to be my friend? Why did he ally with me? Why, why, why?!

"Snap!"

I spun around, startled by the sound. I let out a sigh of relief when I saw it was just a raccoon, scampering under a bush. _"Ah, just a raccoon." _I say, laughing a bit. _"Just a... RACCOON?!" _I stumbled backwards, making sure the masked animal didn't come near me. Or eat my face off. I kept walking, following the footprints. Suddenly, I heard voices in the distance. I froze, wondering if I should run back to the cave or dare risking to see who it was. I glanced down at my right hand, just to make sure I still had my knife. My big _awesome_ knife! I clutched it tightly, deciding to not be a wimp and go see who was talking. This time, I could tell that the voices were coming from the left. I crouched down and tried to be as quiet as possible as I sneaked toward the voices. The voices got louder and louder as I neared them. I slowly crawled under a big bush, pulling a few leaves out of the way so I could see. I raised my eyebrows when I saw who was there. It was Zeke and his District partner, Yopa. Yopa was tall and slender, but she's more toned than I am. She has short, dark red hair that came to her chin. She had dark blue eyes and she had a really deep voice, for a girl.

"He's not going to find us," Zeke chuckled, crossing his arms and leaning against a tree as he stared at his District partner.

"Well, what _if _he does? What if he decides he wants to take us out?" Yopa argued, stomping her foot. Zeke leaned his head back and laughed.

"I don't think he would be stupid enough to go two-against-one," He replied with a smirk.

"He's ginormous! His biceps are bigger than my entire head!" Yopa frowned. I knew they were talking about the boy from District 4, he was the only one big enough to have biceps as big as her head. But, Zeke was about just as big as him.

"Hey, Yopa, I can take him if he acts up. Same goes for anyone else," Zeke answered, shaking his head with a smile. _"They must have allied with a bunch of people or something." _I think to myself as I watch them.

"Yeah? Whatever, Zeke!" Yopa hisses, turning her back to Zeke. I ducked deeper into the bush, hoping she wouldn't see me. Zeke still had a smile across his face, but his expression changed to something I would have never, _ever _thought I would see on his scarred face. Mercy.

"Yopa, you know I'll protect you no matter what," Zeke said softly. _"Oh my gosh! Is he flirting with her?" _I thought to myself as my jaw dropped. Yopa still looked mad.

"Let's just wait for the signal," She snapped, not looking back at him. Zeke grinned and gently reached his foot out, lightly tapping the back of her foot. _"Is Zeke's unbelievable cold heart even capable of liking someone?!" _I think as I try not to gasp. Yopa didn't respond, and Zeke casually leaned against the tree in defeat.

"Signal? Signal for what?" I accidentally whisper out loud. Zeke shot up, looking around in alarm. Snap! He had heard me! I clasp my hand over my mouth. _"What is wrong with me? Why do I always talk when I'm not supposed to?!" _I think to myself.

"Did you hear that?" Zeke said, puffing out his chest to look intimidating.

"Hear what?" Yopa hissed, not looking at him.

"Talking," He said, his eyes searching everywhere.

"You're losing it, Zeke! Lets just go hunt until the signal comes," Yopa orders as she spins around and marches off. Zeke took one more glance around, then slowly followed her.

Once they were out of sight, I let out a huge sigh of relief. They hadn't seen me.

"Good grief, I have to be more careful!" I mutter to myself as I crawl out of the bush. I stand up, brushing the leaves and mud off of myself. I paused when I realized how dark it had gotten! It must have been around 9:00 now. I wondered what the "signal" was for, and what it even was. "_Should I follow them and find out?"_ I bit my lip, looking in the direction that they had gone. _"No, I had better head back to the cave. The 'signal' might be something horrible." _I decide as I slowly make my way toward the cave.

It was pretty difficult trying to get back to the cave because of the darkness. Frogs croaked so loud that it would be hard to hear someone coming, making me on edge. As I walked, I thought about Stearic and if I should trust him. Then I suddenly saw something. I smiled broadly, knowing exactly what it was. It was Crol, a rare poisonous berry that the Capitol made, and there was a whole bush of them! _"I could have these ready just in case Stearic does try to kill me, as a backup plan!" _I say as I cautiously pick a bunch off and stuff them in my pockets. I made sure I didn't get any berry juice on my hands. I grinned as I stood up, feeling overly evil and genius. I quickly made my way back to the cave, but stopped a few feet away. The first thing I saw was Stearic, sitting in the very back of the cave. He had his knees pulled up to his chest, looking... nervous? I slowly walked in, cautious. Was this a trap?

"Stearic...?" I ask slowly. Stearic's head shot up, his eyes widened when he saw me.

"O-Oh! Hey Aspen!" He stammered as he scrambled to his feet, changing his expression to casual. I raised my eyebrows, confused.

"Are you alright? Why were you all huddled up?" I asked, a little alarmed. Stearic paused, then shrugged.

"I was cold," He said, smiling. But it was almost as if he was faking his smile. I narrowed my eyes, closely examining him. His face looked pale, almost greenish!

"Are you feeling okay?" I asked, becoming slightly concerned. Stearic just stared at me.

"You look green," I say quietly.

"No I don't,"

"Yes you do!"

"Do not!"

"Stearic..." I say, frowning. Stearic sighed.

"I don't know, maybe I'm coming down with something," He muttered, looking away. I frowned.

"Do you feel hot?" I asked, wondering if maybe he had gotten a cold or a fever. Stearic grinned and did a dramatic pose.

"Always," He joked. I rolled my eyes.

"Does your head feel warm?" I said, shaking my head. Stearic shrugged, walking toward the entrance of the cave. Out of the corner of my eye, it looked like he smiled, as if he saw something.

"What?" I asked curiously. He spun around, looking confused.

"Nothing," He said, chuckling. I shrugged, sitting down.

"You look tired. I'll take the first watch, you sleep," Stearic says as he leans against the entrance of the cave. I frowned but nodded; I was exhausted. I rested my head against the cold stone cave, keeping my eyes on Stearic, whose back was toward me. He was, again, staring off into the night at the entrance of the cave. I gently patted my pocket, making sure I had the poisonous berries. I was beginning to fall asleep. In my other hand, I tightly clutched my knife. Stearic was my ally, but that doesn't mean I trust him.

* * *

"Chirp, chirp!" Echoed through my ears as I opened my eyes. I gasped when I sat up, seeing a bluebird standing beside me. I paused. Why was a bluebird in the cave? I slowly reached my hand out to touch it, see if it was really there. The blue bird jumped backwards, then stopped. Then it did it again! Did it want me to follow it? I cautiously got to my feet, walking after the bird. The bluebird then took flight, flying into a tree just outside the cave. I walked out of the cave only to see the bird fly away. I frowned. _"Well! That was weird," _I think to myself as I paused. The swamp was bright in the morning sunlight, and fog barely covered the damp ground. It looked beautiful!

"Aspen!" Timre's voice made me jump. He was standing a little ways away, smiling kindly at me.

"Timre?" I asked in bewilderment.

"Come here!" He said, grinning. I couldn't help but smile at him. I began to run over to him, I felt relieved that he wasn't scared of me anymore. I stopped when I was in front of him.

"I have something to show you," Timre said as he grabbed my sleeve and practically dragged me into the swamp. I laughed and followed eagerly. We ran for a few minutes, dodging the trees and bushes as we ran.

"Look what I found! Look!" Timre shouted as he pointed to a pile of fresh, ripe fruit. My jaw dropped.

"Timre! How did you find this?" I asked, shocked and amazed. He just smiled at me and shrugged.

"I got it for you," He said, smiling sweetly. I raised my eyebrow. Was this one of his cruel jokes? He reached down and tossed me a ripe pear. I grabbed it and sank my teeth into it. The flavor burst through my mouth; it was the best pear I've ever tasted!

"Now that I've got your attention, I have something to tell you," Timre said, his expression changing to serious. I grinned, thinking that he was just pretending to be serious so I would freak out and then he would tell me it was a joke.

"What?" I asked, smirking. Suddenly, a cannon went off! Timre nodded toward the sky. Confused, I looked up. I dropped the pear in dismay. Aunt Litch's face came up on the arena screen!

"I'm sorry," Timre whispered. I made fists in my hair and started screaming. Aunt Litch had died? What! I screamed as tears rolled down my cheeks. I kept screaming bloody murder as I fell to my knees, staring at the picture in the sky.

"She was all the family I had left!" I wail in utter horror.

* * *

I rip my eyes open as I literally jump to my feet, breathing heavily. I looked around frantically, confused. I was in the cave, and it was still dark! I let out a sigh of relief.

"It was just a dream, Aspen, just a dream," I whisper to myself in a shaky voice. I stood there for a few moments, shaking like a leaf. I had just dreamed the worst nightmare I think I've ever dreamed in my life! I wrapped my arms around myself, trying to comfort myself. After I pulled myself together, I gingerly touched my cheek. I had been crying in my sleep. I gulped hard, trying to block the picture of Aunt Litch out of my mind. _"She's not really dead, it was just a nightmare." _I think to myself, still breathing heavily. But there was a tiny voice in my head whispering that I could be wrong. I quickly shook the thought, biting down on my lower lip. I then paused, looking around. It must have been 2- 3 in the morning, and it was still pitch-black outside. But there was no Stearic, again. I wrinkled my eyebrows, confused.

"S-S-Stearic?" I stutter a whisper. There was no sign of him. Suddenly, anger began to boil inside of me. He left?! He was my only defense as I slept! One of the tributes could have sneaked in and killed me! I gulped again, chewing on my lower lip. I glanced down at my hip, making sure the wound was still there. I poked the stitches and pain shot through my body. I smiled slightly, knowing I was awake now.

I slowly, cautiously made my way to the entrance of the cave. I glanced out, still no sign of Stearic. I took a deep breath as I reached down and grabbed my knife. _"Pull yourself together, Aspen!" _I think to myself as I gather every ounce of courage in my body and march into the darkness. Once I found Stearic, I was going to blast him. There was no way he was getting out of this one. This alliance could be over.

My eyes still had tears in them as I walked into the dark swamp. I was still shaking slightly from my nightmare, and I guess I was shaking with anger too. I clutched my knife tightly as I walked. After a few minutes of walking, my eyes began to adjust to the darkness. The swamp was cold in the early morning, it definitely didn't feel like morning. I looked around, trying to find Stearic so I could yell at him. Suddenly, I saw a figure walking toward me. I froze, ready to swing my knife at whoever it was. But for some weird reason, I knew who it was.

"You... You sick moron!" I hiss through clenched teeth. Stearic stopped in his tracks, just noticing me. He looked surprised.

"Aspen! What are you-" He began to say.

"I hate your guts! You said you would take first watch and you leave! You're a pathetic excuse of an ally!" I almost whisper because I'm still shaking. Stearic paused, as if trying to figure out what to say.

"Aspen, I-"

"No! I don't want to hear it!"

"But-"

"Shut your face! If you ever come to the cave again-" I began to blast him. Stearic quickly put his hand over my mouth.

"I heard that Timre was hurt, and normally I wouldn't care, but since he was your friend I figured I would help him before the careers got to him," Stearic interrupted, taking his hand off of my mouth. I paused, suddenly feeling like an awful person.

"What? Stearic, I had no idea..." I stuttered, blushing from embarrassment. Stearic smiled, almost as if... relieved?

"It's alright, you didn't know," He said quietly.

"Did you find him?" I ask eagerly. Suddenly, Stearic's face lit up.

"Uh, no, no I didn't... Maybe you could help find him," He said slowly. A little voice in my head was saying that there was something suspicious about this, but I blocked it out. Timre could be hurt.

"Of course," I say quickly. Stearic nodded.

"Follow me," He said as he walked to the left. I quickly followed. All I could think about was if Timre was okay. We walked for a few minutes in silence. The swamp wasn't silent, though. The frogs were going nuts and crickets chirped, making all kinds of noises. Swamps are not quiet places! Then, Stearic broke the awkwardness.

"Hey, can I see your knife really quick?" Stearic asked curiously. I glanced at him as the voice in my head got louder and louder, screaming for me not to give it to him.

"Why?" I ask slowly. Stearic shrugged.

"I want to see if it's as big as my knife," Stearic replied coolly. I stared at him for a second.

"Just a weird obsession of mine, I always have to have the better toy," Stearic laughed. _"What do I do?" _I thought to myself. _"It's not like he's going to kill me, just give it to him." _I decide as I hand my knife to him. He smiled gratefully and took it, pulling out his knife from his pocket. I inwardly sighed in relief, he was telling the truth. He began to size up the knives as we walked. I smiled, I was being stupid. He's been nothing but friendly to me, why should I doubt Stearic? Then I remembered his face when I was yelling at him, as if he was thinking of a way out. _"Stop doing this, Aspen, Stearic is fine!" _I scold myself as I followed Stearic.

But my mind drifted back to what he had said._ "I heard that Timre was hurt, and normally I wouldn't care, but since he was your friend I figured I would help him before the careers got to him," _I remember him say. He "heard" that Timre was hurt? Who had told him?! I gulped hard. That was a good question.

"Who told you?" I remark, glaring at Stearic. He paused, glancing back at me.

"What?" He asked.

"You said you heard that Timre was hurt! Who told you?!" I demand, crossing my arms and stopping in my tracks. We were in a part of the swamp that had lots of trees.

"Uh..." Stearic said, shifting around uncomfortably. I looked him right in the eye, waiting for his answer. Stearic ran a hand through his hair.

"I really wish you hadn't gone there," He began, grinning evilly at me. Chills ran down my spine. Stearic was a liar, and I never should have trusted him!

"I need you... here!" He says as he shoves me roughly, making me stumble backwards. I looked down just in time to see Stearic had shoved me into a snare trap! The rope tightly wrapped around my right foot, yanking me into the air. I screamed as I flew into the air, upside down. I was at least six to seven feet in the air. I flailed my arms in fury. I suddenly caught a handful of Stearic's short hair! I yanked it as hard as I could, making him stumbled underneath me.

"Ow! Get off!" Stearic ordered as he grabbed the knife-which I had stupidly given him-and sliced my wrist, forcing me to let go. I shrieked in pain, but lashed out at him with my other hand. I scratched his face, making him wince and stumble out of my reach.

"I really wish I didn't have to do this, Aspen," Stearic said as he looked up at me. Blood slowly dripped down his face from where I had scratched him. I must have scratched him pretty good!

"You traitor!" I hiss, still trying to get at him. Stearic sighed, but kept his devilish smile. Suddenly, Zeke, Yopa, District 4 boy, and the District 3 girl emerged from the bushes.

"It's about time you got her," District 4 said. I wrinkled my eyebrows, I am REALLY confused right now.

"Oh shut it, Clutch," District 3 said.

"Hmmm, you were right. She doesn't look very threatening," Yopa grinned at me.

"Eh, I wouldn't say that. Look at his face," Zeke laughed, "he got scratched by a girl!"

While they're laughing it up, I try to loosen the rope around my ankle. No luck.

"Wasn't easy to get her here. I had to keep sneaking out while she slept to make the trap, she was like glue! She almost figured out that I was trying to trap her, too," Stearic remarked, wiping the scratches with his sleeve.

"So can I join the alliance now?" Stearic asked, looking at the group. Zeke stepped in front, looking at me. I glared at Stearic. He had used me to get into their stupid alliance? Really?!

"Well, you did catch her, like we agreed. Fine," Zeke said with a chuckle.

"So, Aspen, isn't it?" Yopa said as she walked toward me. "How do you want to die?"

Everyone laughed, including Stearic. I glared at them all. I could feel all the blood rushing to my head!

"I say we tie her up and drown her," District 3 said.

"No, Clartia, that would be too... simple," Zeke said as he eyes me down.

"We could rip her limbs off one by one," Clutch suggested. Zeke shook his head.

Suddenly, an eerie sonic scream boomed through the entire arena! Everyone, including myself, covered their ears at the blood-curdling cry. The scream was so loud that I could barely hear the alliance yelling at each other. I looked to Zeke, who was yelling so loud that veins were throbbing in his neck, but his voice was so drowned out by the scream that it sounded like a whisper.

"WHAT IS THAT?!" Zeke "whispered". Everyone looked terrified! I was sure that I would be deaf in about five minutes, but the scream suddenly stopped. I slowly took my hands away from my ears, looking in every direction. It was a weird, helpless feeling because I was trapped upside-down. I could be a pinata to whatever it was! The alliance draws their weapons, looking around to find to what was making a noise. It's like they completely forgot about me, which gives me a chance to escape. But that chance is very slim. Then the screaming starts again and the alliance starts panicking. I struggle to loosen the knot on my ankle, which I know is already bruised. I try to forget about the relenting screech echoing through the air, but that is very hard as I feel my ears might bleed. I still struggle at the knot when the screaming stops. Everything is silent, the alliance is looking everywhere for what caused. Then Zeke, who is trying to look overly intimidating, speaks up.

"What the-" But then the screaming starts again. I ignore the instinct to cover my ears, and keep at the knot. I suddenly stop when I felt warm breath on the back of my neck. I instantly got goosebumps as I break out in a cold sweat. I slowly look behind me. I let out a blood-curdling scream at what I saw.

**Hooday! So... who hates Stearic? ME! X) I updated cuz I wanted to and... thank you to everyone who followed, faved, and reviewed! I'll try to update soon but probably not tomorrow, I have soccer. But it might get cancelled if it's too cold. So... please review and tell me what you think, buh-bye!**


	12. Chapter 12

I screamed so loudly that I almost threw up! I frantically tried to get my ankle free from the snare trap that Stearic had pushed me into. I was face-to-face with a monster! Well, a Capitol mutation monster. It appeared to be an alligator that stood on his hind legs, and he was at least 6 1/2 feet tall! He was dripping with swamp water, and he had a horrible under-bite. His crooked, top teeth sank into the tender skin of his lower jaw, causing a little blood to splatter. The mutation reeked of... rotten flesh and blood! And he was _inches _from my face! I continued to scream bloody murder as I grabbed his snout and shoved it away from my face. It's a weird feeling to be upside-down and hanging in front of a man-eating machine; it isn't fun!

The mutation let out another blood-curdling sonic scream, forcing me to cover my ears. The alliance was screaming and wailing in horror! The District 3 girl, Clartia, took off running into the woods. The rest of them just stood there, as if stunned and frozen with fear. I swung my arms desperately at the mutation, but I knew it was only a matter of seconds before I would become his lunch. But the mutation looked at me, his cold eyes narrowed. I was shaking in terror as I frantically tried to think of a way to make it out alive! Suddenly, the mutation turned, lunging at the alliance! _"I... I'm alive! I have to get down, NOW!" _I think to myself as I desperately try to rip my foot out of the knot.

"RUN!" Clutch blurted out as he began to stumble backwards. The alliance suddenly sprang into action, trying to get away from the mutation, which was going nuts on them. Zeke swung his sword at him, but the sword hardly scratched the monster. Stearic clutched his two knives in both hands and leaped at the mutation's back. He dug one into the monster's thigh, making blood gush everywhere. But the alligator spun around, knocking the other knife out of Stearic's hand. I gasped when the knife flew toward my face! Instinctively, I reached out and tried to grab it. But the blade impales my hand, making me shriek in pain. My voice was drowned out by all the screaming and yelling, though. The alliance was trying to attack the monster, but they were failing miserably! The alligator launched at Clutch, and Clutch tried throw his ax at the mutation, but it didn't even phase the monster. Instead, it whacked Clutch with its powerful tail, sending him flying face-first into a tree.

The monster swung around, scratching Zeke across his face. Zeke fell backwards, holding his face and groaning in pain. It then snapped at Stearic, catching his hand and ripping off a few of his fingers. Stearic let out a scream, clutching his hand close to his chest. Yopa grabbed her spear, throwing it at the alligator, but he didn't even flinch. _"I have to get down while I still can!" _I think to myself as I grab the knife which was lodged in my hand and rip it out. I wail, but instantly began to cut the thick rope which held me captive.

"We can't win! Scram!" Stearic shouted, his eyes wide with terror. He spun around, disappearing into the darkness. Everyone began to run, except Yopa. She had a determined look in her eyes. I took a few glances at them, making sure the monster was still distracted, then continued to cut through the thick rope. I was almost free! _Almost. _

"Yopa! What are you doing?! Run!" Zeke screeched, looking back at her. Yopa payed no attention to him. Instead, she reached down, picking up Clutch's ax from off the ground. The mutation slowly turned around, looking directly at her. It tensed, getting on all fours and bracing to lunge at Yopa. Yopa raised the ax, grinning evilly at the alligator.

"Yopa!" Zeke said as he began to run for his District partner.

"Dude! Are you nuts?! Just leave her, we have to get out of here!" Clutch demanded as he snatched at Zeke's arm. Zeke quickly dodged Clutch, racing for Yopa.

"Come on, you big ugly lizard! Lets see what you've got!" Yopa hissed as she swung her ax at the monster. The alligator stepped back, dodging the ax. He then roared, raising himself onto his hind legs. I stopped cutting the rope for a split second, my eyes widened as I watched. He took his front arm and swung it at Yopa.

"YOPA! NO!" Zeke screamed as Clutch grabbed Zeke's arm, forcing him to stop. The alligator wrapped his slimy fingers around Yopa's head, then yanked back. I closed my eyes tight, letting out a scream of horror. As if on cue, the rope around my foot snaps and I plummet to the ground. Pain shot through my body, but I was too terrified to care. I stood up just in time to see Zeke frozen, looking at the monster in horror. Was... was that tears in his eyes? I didn't have time to feel bad for him, because the monster began to turn toward me! I spun around, racing into the dark swamp.

Branches, leaves, and plants all smashed into my face as I ran through the swamp. My right foot was aching, my hand was throbbing, but I didn't care! I was alive! But I wasn't out of the woods yet. That... that thing could be right on my tail! I ripped the vines and branches out of my face as best I could, trying to see where I was going. But it was so dark that I could barely see three feet in front of me! Suddenly, BOOM! The cannon went off, and I knew who it was for. Yopa was dead. But I couldn't look up at the sky, I had to get as far away from the mutation-and the alliance-as I could!

* * *

After about 20 minutes of running, I fall to my knees in the middle of the swamp, completely out of breath. I was gasping for my breath as I looked down at my hand. It was still bleeding. _"Great, another wound. How do I keep getting hurt so much?" _I think to myself, frowning. I look around, having absolutely no idea where I am. But at least I was still alive! The swamp was beginning to light up as dawn was on the horizon. Even though it had been a horrible night, it seemed like a weight lifted off my shoulders as the darkness fled away. I was still trying to catch my breath as I rip a thin piece of the hem of my shirt off, then wrapped it tightly around my wounded hand. I hoped it would stop the bleeding, but only time would tell. Maybe I could sneak back to the cave and get my backpack, and get that wire to stitch up my hand... But what if Stearic had set a trap there? What if he was waiting for me there? Should I risk going for my backpack? Hmm... I guess I should see if my hand stops bleeding first before I make any drastic decisions. I gulped hard, realizing how exhausted I was.

I put my hand on my forehead, closing my eyes for a second. It was rare that I got to close my eyes in the arena, _very_ rare. Ever since I've gotten here, I've only gotten a few hours of sleep each night; then I would spend the day in the scorching sun trying to find water or food, etc. I hated this. I could feel the water from the wet, soggy ground sinking into my knees. There was so much water everywhere! I wasn't used to this, and that was a huge disadvantage. Then, there was so much vegetation everywhere! What a joy it is to find out what a tree feels like in the Hunger Games arena, right?

I rubbed my temples, opening my tired eyes. _"I had better keep moving." _I think to myself as I stagger to my feet. I slowly walked along, practically dragging my feet. I paused, frowning.

"What do I do now?" I say aloud, realizing I have no plan. My hand grazed my pocket, and I instantly remembered the poisonous berries I had picked from the bush. I grinned slightly. I was on my own, and I could make my own decisions! I didn't have to listen to my old ally partner, Stearic, anymore! I could do what I wanted and do it my own way.

"I could set some traps, I know how to do that," I say to myself as I pull some berries out of my pocket.

"Poisoned traps," I mutter under my breath.

* * *

For the past hour, I've been walking around collecting sticks and rocks. I was now sitting under a huge tree, cutting sharp edges on the sticks. I glanced up at the sky, I'm guessing it was around six in the morning. The sun was casting little rays of light onto the swamp, and I knew in a few hours it would be extremely humid and hot. But for now, it was considerably cool! Dew was still everywhere, my pants were wet from sitting on the soggy ground. I look over at all the sharp sticks and rocks that I had collected. I had counted about 100 sticks and rocks each. I reached in my pocket and pulled out a handful of the poisonous berries, they were kind of rotten by now, but still usable. I set them on the ground, then began to roll the edges of the sticks and rocks in the berries. The berries broke when I did so, spreading the juice onto them. I then stood and looked up at the big tree I had been sitting against. It was huge! But the best thing about it was that the roots of the tree were tall and sticking out, making a rather large hole beneath the tree. Like a giant hole underneath the tree! Tall and thick, I knew it would be a good place to stay; at least for one night.

I would set the traps around my tree, and if anyone tried to get me, they would step on one of my poisonous traps. I began to set the sticks and rocks in a big circle around my tree, hiding them under moss. I smiled after I was finished, admiring my work. Everyone might think I wasn't capable of winning, but hey, I just might. I then frowned. I wouldn't even have to do this if the Hunger Games didn't exist. Who could come up with such a horrible idea as the Games? Seriously? I shook the thought, taking a deep breath. There was no use in asking why. The Games existed, I was here, and for some reason the alliance was after me. Asking why wouldn't help anything. Without thinking, I wiped my forehead with my sleeve. I paused, realizing that it was getting hotter. I bit my lower lip, frowning. Soon it would be hot, and I had no water!

My mind drifted off to the canteen of water back at the cave. I was tempted to go get it, but should I risk getting caught again?_ "No, no. There has to be some other way that I can get water." _I thought to myself, shaking my head. I looked around, maybe there was something I could use as a water holder or something. But all I had was the sticks and rocks! Great! I placed my hands on my hips. There was water everywhere in the swamp, but there was no way to bring it back to my tree where my traps were! What to do... What to do... I could stay by the river, it would be nice and cool, but then again there would probably be a lot of tributes looking for water as well. I closed my eyes and hung my head. I had to go back to the cave and get my canteen of water.

* * *

I cautiously made my way through the swamp, retracing my steps until I could find something that looked familiar so I could figure out where I was. The sun was beginning to beat down on my back, it was getting hotter. I quickly took my jacket off and tied it around my waist. The swamp was now booming with life! Bugs zipped around in all directions, a few bird chirps echoed through the air, and it was just plain old noisy. I grumbled and swished a few vines out of my way, looking desperately for something that looked familiar. But just my luck, nothing was familiar. At all.

"I stinking hate this place!" I growl as I wipe some sweat off of my forehead with my sleeve. But then, my heart lifted! In the distance, I saw the cliff that I had fallen off when Zeke was chasing me. I knew exactly where I was now, and the cave was nearby.

I slowly walked toward the direction of the cave, and I tried to listen to see if anyone was around. But the noise of the swamp made that impossible. _"If someone is around here, there's no way I'll know unless I see them. I have to be on my guard." _I think to myself as my eyes scan through the trees. I tensed, frowning ever so slightly, I had a weird feeling that something was watching me. I gulped softly as chills ran down my spine. _"I'm just paranoid about the alliance and that mutation." _I think to myself, shaking my head. But for some reason, I couldn't shake the feeling.

I found myself looking nervously in all directions. Suddenly, all sounds seemed threatening. I tensed more, gulping hard. I slowly spun around, walking backwards to see if someone was following me. The trees and vines swished slightly in the breeze, and the sun shined directly in my eyes. But all of the sudden, a huge shadow was cast over me!

I froze, my eyes wide with fear. _"It's the mutation!" _I think to myself as I breathe in quickly. I instantly spun around, letting out a punch, hoping to hit whatever it was. Then I paused, smiling. It wasn't the mutation, I had backed up into the cave! _"Well, that was dumb!" _I thought as I laughed. And you know what was even better? There was no Stearic there. I let out a sigh of relief when my eyes settled on my backpack.

"It's still here!" I say aloud, joy flooding over me. I ran over and swooped up my backpack into my arms, giving it a big hug. I paused for a second. _"Uh... I'm hugging a backpack... This is weird..." _I think as I zip open the backpack. To my relief, everything-including the water canteen-was in there! Finally, something was going my way. I swung my backpack over my shoulder and took a final glance around the cave, because there was no _way _I was coming back here. Stearic would probably come back here, searching for me. I nodded once, then turned around and headed back for my tree.

As I walked, I felt like whistling! I didn't dare let out a peep, though. But I was overjoyed to have my backpack back. Hey, a backpack might seem like a small thing to love, but in the Games, you take whatever you can get! I silently waded through the swamp, the sun pounding down on me. The ground was still soft, making my feet sink every time I took a step. Normally, I would be miserable in the heat, but today I had my backpack so I was good! But then my mind began to drift back to Stearic and how he had betrayed me. He used me to get into Zeke's dumb alliance! _"I HOPE HE DIES!" _I think to myself, gritting my teeth.

I thought back to the first day when we became allies, I wondered if he had sneaked off while I was sleeping to go ask to be in the alliance or if he had stayed and kept watch, like he promised. Then I remembered the next day when we had finished eating the boiled raccoon; he had asked what time I thought it was. When I answered, he looked tense as if he had to be somewhere. He had told me to go and get some water, and on my way back to the cave, I heard voices. I wondered if one of the voices was his, if he was talking to the alliance. I clenched my fists, suddenly directing my anger toward myself.

"How could I have been so stupid?!" I say out loud, forgetting that I'm in the Games for a second.

"There were so many signs that he was a fake, but I refused to acknowledge them! What's wrong with me?!" I say to myself, hitting my forehead with my palm. I walked all the way back to my tree, mumbling offensive things to myself the whole way. Once at my tree, I carefully stepped over my traps then stopped in front of the tree. I would have climbed it, but I don't know how... I shrugged and dropped to my hands and knees, crawling under the roots of the tree. It was just as cool to hide under a tree then in a tree, right?

I stayed under the tree until it was nighttime, occasionally having to get out to go refill my water canteen. I was now sitting under the tree, mushing dirt onto my arms and face. I kept doing that until I was completely covered in dirt, like camouflage. I grinned, I never thought I would be covering myself in dirt. I slowly lied down, staring out of the hole in the roots; or the entrance to get under the tree. The wind began to pick up, causing more noise to flood through the already noisy swamp. I closed my eyes, imagining myself in my old bed back home. I smiled ever so slightly, but then frowned when I thought about my aunt. I opened my eyes, staring out into the darkness. I hoped she was okay, I hoped she would be there when I went back home.

_If I went back home._

**Hooday! I know it has been a while since I updated but I have a good excuse... I JOINED DC UNIVERSE ONLINE! OH YEAH! If you didn't already know, I am the biggest superhero fan-girl out there! I CAN'T WAIT TILL IRON MAN 3! And one of my friends already knows never to call Spider-Man a Spider-Pig! MUAHAHA! I don't own the Hunger Games cause if I did Cato would still be alive! :)**


	13. Chapter 13

The morning sunlight gingerly peeked through the roots of the tree, shining right in my eyes and waking me up. I yawned, rubbing my eyes and propping myself up on my elbows. I didn't have much room to stretch, and my body was aching from being so cramped underneath the huge tree.

"Oh, another wonderful day in the Games," I mumbled sarcastically as I crawled out of the hole, out from under the roots of the tree. I frowned when I realized that all the mud I had spread on myself yesterday was dried and crunchy; and my hair was all greasy and dirty. I instinctively reach for my water canteen, only to find it empty. I groan, hanging my head.

"Guess who's going down to the lake?" I say to myself as I grab my knife, step over my poisoned traps, and head off into the swamp.

As I walked, I glanced around at the swamp. It was around 8:00, the birds were singing, the bugs and frogs were going nuts, and creeks babbling in the distance filled the air. There were so many noises that my ears were almost ringing! The morning sun danced through the leaves of the trees, chasing the night shadows away. Almost everything was either bright green or a mud brown, but it all glimmered in the morning sun. Most people would think this place was beautiful, but I sure didn't. If you had to be here, in the Games, you would hate it as much as I did.

After a few minutes, I made it to the lake. I sank to my knees, first filling my water canteen. As I did, I instinctively looked around, making sure no one was nearby. It was too noisy to hear anyone coming, so I had to rely on sight rather than hearing. I lifted my now full canteen out of the lake and set it aside, then dipped my arms into the cool water. I rubbed both of my arms harshly, attempting to get the stinky mud off of myself.

Once my arms were clean, I cup my hands together and splash the water onto my face. I yelped as a cannon went off!

"OH MY GOSH I'M DEAD!" I squeal in fright, jumping away from the water. Then I realized, I'm not dead! My heart was still racing from the surprise, but I quickly looked up at the sky, but then remembered that the faces didn't show up until nighttime. I had no clue of who the cannon was for, I guess I would just have to wait until night. I could only hope it wasn't Timre.

I put my hand of my head, frowning. I slowly walked back to the lake, getting on my hands and knees. I dunked my entire head under the cold water, then furiously rubbed my fish braid to get the dirt and grease out. I could feel my face turning red from lack of breath, so I lifted my head out of the lake and inhaled deeply.

"That felt amazing," I whisper to myself, feeling almost clean for once. I suddenly froze when I noticed someone standing on the other side of the lake. Chills ran down my spine when I realized it was the girl from District 1.

"You're allies with that guy who killed my partner, aren't you?" She asked, her voice shaky but filled with bitterness. I instantly thought back to when Stearic had stabbed the guy from District 1, aka her partner. I gulped hard, cautiously picking up my knife. As I did, she reached behind her and grabbed an arrow, stuffing it into her bow but not aiming at me yet.

"Not anymore," I said slowly. It was kind of hard to see her because she was so far away, but I noticed that her dark hair was tangled and dirty, like mine had been. I could also tell that she had scratches covering her darker skin, I guessed they were from the Blood Bath.

"Well, now it's your turn to die," She stammered, her lower lip beginning to tremble as she raised her bow, aiming her arrow at me. My feet felt numb with fear, but I instantly spun around and raced for the swamp. The arrow barely missed my head as I ran, making me get a sudden burst of energy to run like nobody's business!

I kept running and running and running, arrows whizzing past me every few seconds. But I seemed to be faster than her, and she was slowly falling behind.

"You can't get away from me!" Her voice echoed as she ran after me.

_"If I can just make it to my tree, I can get to my poisoned traps!"_ I think to myself as I raced for my tree. After what seemed like only a few seconds, my tree came into view.

"Thank goodness!" I say out loud as I leap over my poisoned traps and swan-dive into the small hole under my tree. I smack the ground face-first, but ignore the throbbing pain in my nose and spin around on my stomach to face the hole. Knife in hand, I stare at the entrance and wait for her to come to my tree. I waited for about five minutes, wondering where on Earth she was! _"Maybe I lost her?" _I think to myself. Suddenly, I feel a weak tap on my shoulder.

"Aspen?" A soft voice whispered. My eyes widened, recognizing the familiar voice. I spin my head around and clutch my knife tightly, stunned.

"...Timre?"

**Hooday! So... what ya think of the chapter? I know it's short but this chapter is kinda just to cover ground. And what ya think of the cliff-hanger? (At least I hope it's a cliff-hanger...) So... please review, fave and follow, I don't own the HG and I leave you with an important saying... ****don't use cheesy pick-up lines**** O_O...**


	14. Chapter 14

My heart was pounding from running under my tree, and I was trying to catch my breath. It didn't help that I was face-to-face with my district partner, Timre. _"How did he get under my tree?" _I thought to myself, still in shock. My mouth went dry with shock as I studied him, my eyes wide with horror. He had scratches and bruises all over his pale face, and he was covered head-to-toe in dirt. His scrawny body was trembling and he was breaking out in a horrid cold-sweat. His grey eyes, which were normally bright with joy, were now glazed and glassy.

"Wha... wha..." Was all that would come out of my mouth. Timre slowly smiled, but I could tell he was in tremendous pain.

"I'm a ghost! It's okay, I'll only eat your feet," Timre tried to joke. He hung his head as if even talking was draining the energy out of him. I gulped hard, finding my voice.

"What happened to you?" I asked slowly, setting my knife down and scooting to the left so I could see him more clearly.

"I was going..." His voice trailed off as he winced.

"It's okay, use as few words as you can," I coughed, knowing he was in pain. Timre cleared his throat, looking up at me.

"Ran into woods. Ate weird-looking rat. Couldn't find bathroom," He stammered, grinning ever so slightly. I smiled slowly.

"How'd you get under my tree?" I asked, glancing out of the entrance to see if the District 1 girl was still looking for me.

"Thought it was bathroom," Timre muttered, resting his head on the dirt. I paused, frowning. Timre had deep cuts on his face and arms.

"Alright, let me get your cuts patched up," I said, grabbing his arm and dragging him out from under the tree. As I dragged him, I noticed he was burning up. He was really sweaty, too.

"Ow, ow, ouch..." Timre mumbled, going limp as I dragged him. Once he was clear of the tree, I let him go. He limply flopped onto the ground.

"You're going to be okay, Timre!" I said, biting hard on my lower lip. His wounds looked worse now that he was in the sunlight.

"Mmmhmmm, sure," Timre grumbled, sitting up. I grabbed my water canteen and began to pour some water on the cuts on his face. Timre winced.

"Ow! Watch it!" He snapped, shoving the water canteen away. He placed his head in his hands, groaning in pain.

"I don't understand, the wounds are deep, but they shouldn't be hurting you this much," I said slowly, frowning. Timre cleared his throat, grabbing his left foot.

"My foot hurts the most, and I think the broccoli was in on it," He muttered, shoving his shoe off. I raised my eyebrow, then a lump formed in my throat. He was acting strange.

"Did you... step on something?" I asked slowly, fear rising in my heart.

"Yeah, some pointy stick. I stepped on it when I was walking over there," Timre remarked, nodding a toward a stick wedged into the ground. My heart sank. It was my stick, my _poisoned_ stick.

"And you know what? The bunny hates cake!" He coughed, wiping some sweat off of his forehead.

"Timre! You stepped on my trap!" I said, starting to panic. Timre's head shot up, looking at me with shock.

"What! You set a trap?" He shouted, then paused.

"Hmm... Guess you're good at something after all," He said, patting me on the shoulder.

"I'm so proud of you, Miss Peanut," He added weakly.

"Timre! I feel so awful! But you're going to be okay, okay?" I stuttered, my mind racing. I knew by the way he was talking that the poison had begun to take affect. The poison was called Crol, and was made by the Capitol. I remembered back to when I had learned about the Capitol poison. I knew the side-effects. First was talking gibberish, followed by physical weakness; bleeding eyes; dizzy spells; vomiting; and then a state to where you couldn't tell if you were in reality or the past. Then, if you got enough of the poison, , I knew most of the Capitol poisons had a cure. I just didn't know what the cure was, or which poisons had cures.

"I'll get you a cure, Timre," I say, panicking. Timre slowly looked up at me.

"You... poisoned me?! You killed me! You killed your best friend!" He yelled, throwing his hands up.

"I-I-I didn't know you would s-step on it!" I try to argue.

"What am I supposed to do now? I had so many plans! Who's going to feed my dog?" He demanded, glaring at me.

"And I was going to paint my turtle purple! TURTLEY!" He screamed, throwing his head back.

"I LOVE YOU!" He began to wail. I paused, the first side-effect was DEFINITELY kicking in.

"Timre! Keep your voice down!" I order, putting my hand over his mouth. Timre instantly stopped yelling. He ripped my hand off of his face.

"Sheesh, I know you like me but keep your hands to yourself," He said, grinning slightly. I stared at him, wide-eyed. Even when he is about to die, he can still find a place to put a joke.

"Ugh. Listen, I'm going to have to stitch these wounds up. Think you can sit still?" I ask, crawling under my tree to my backpack. I quickly unzipped it, pulling out the thin wire.

"You're talking to a man," He said, sarcastically puffing out his chest.

"Says the guy who was just screaming about his turtle," I remark, crawling back out from under the tree. Timre laughed, wincing when he did. I look at him sympathetically. He could be dead in a few days.

"Hey, can I beatbox?" He asked, weakly bobbing his head. I huffed.

"Fine, but stop moving," I muttered, biting off a piece of the wire so it was sharp. I then started to stitch up the deep wounds on his face and arms.

* * *

It was now late afternoon, and Timre and I were sitting against my tree. I had to keep a close eye on him, knowing he could take a turn for the worst and die in a matter of hours. But then again, I didn't know how much poison had gotten into his blood. Over the past few hours, his gibberish had gotten worse. At first, he'd just say something weird here and there, then he wouldn't stop beat boxing, and now just about everything he says doesn't make sense. He was at the point where he was pretty much normal, but he was weak and his words weren't right. He was in his right mind, though. For now.

"Feel so good I might fly," Timre sang, slightly drumming his fingers on his knee. I stared at him, deep in thought. I didn't know the cure for Crol, and I didn't even know if Crol had a cure. But one thing's for sure, if there was one, the only way I'd get to it is by a sponsor.

"One, two, three, MOUSE!" He shouted, looking at me. I sighed.

"Right now would be a really good time to get a sponsor," I mumble under my breath.

"Hey, do you know that air conditioners aren't real? They just pretend for the cupcakes, and I don't even think pelicans care!" Timre said, looking as if he was saying something intelligent.

"Timre, you're acting like Woof right now," I say quietly, rolling my eyes. Timre's expression suddenly changed to angry.

"YOU THINK IT'S MY FAULT THAT RICE DOESN'T EXIST?! Well, let me tell you something, sister!" Timre said, crossing his arms, "I don't like diapers! And I certainly don't use them!"

I did a facepalm, huffing. It's not easy baby-sitting a lunatic.

"Timre, try to say something that makes sense, please!" I say, closing my eyes.

"Plop," He said, looking down. He then flopped onto his side.

"Night night," He said as he closed his eyes. I opened my eyes, watching him. The sun was beating down on us, but I didn't want to go under my tree. It was too squished for two people. I leaned my head against the tree, taking a deep breath. _"What do I do now?" _I ask myself, frowning. I could play this game the competitive way and just leave Timre to fend for himself, or I could play it the nice way and be a friend. Deep down, I knew I couldn't leave my district partner. He was like my best friend now, and he needed me. No matter how much he annoyed me, I was his friend.

I kept my eyes closed for a good while, although I probably should have been keeping watch.

"Babbling brook, it's a can!" Timre's voice made me jump.

"What?" I asked, looking at him. He was sitting next to me, but wouldn't look at me.

"Timre, what is it now?" I ask, annoyed. He kept rubbing his eyes for some reason.

"If it's not important, then don't bug me," I mutter, inwardly rolling my eyes.

"Flab," Timre said as if saying "fine". But out of the corner of my eye, I saw something on his hand. Was that... blood?

"Timre, what is that?!" I ask, grabbing his arm. He used his other hand to cover his face.

"Nocturnal!" He muttered, confusion in his voice.

"Timre! Look at me right now!" I demand, trying to get his hand away from his face.

"Ocean potion!" He proclaimed, shying away from me.

"Timre!" I argue, grabbing his chin and spinning his head toward me. My jaw dropped when I realized that his eyes were dripping with blood! He waited for me to get a good look at him, then put his head in his hands.

"Oh no..." I gulp, knowing he was getting worse. Timre looked up at me, frowning.

"Look, Kristen, you don't have to paint the paperclip," He said, looking confused.

"The pancake can wipe itself," He added, shrugging weakly. I narrowed my eyes. I'm guessing that was his way of saying he could take care of himself.

"Timre, I'm not going to leave you here," I said, handing him my jacket to wipe the blood from his eyes. He smiled gratefully, then wiped his eyes.

"You know, I wish you could talk," I sighed. He raised his eyebrows.

"I mean really talk," I laughed. Timre laughed along, resting his head against the tree. Pain filled his eyes, and I could tell he wasn't his normal happy self. He was trying to pretend to be happy, though. When he saw me staring at him with a concerned look on my face, he quickly smiled.

"I have so much to tell you, so much to ask you," I continue, sighing. Timre shrugged weakly, smiling.

"I really am sorry," I say looking away. Timre playfully punched my shoulder.

"Hey, nothing a rat can't fix," He said as he wiped some blood from his eyes.

"Yeah," I chuckle, shaking my head.

**Hooday! So... here's a new chapter and I hope ya like it... and who else died from awesomeness when you saw the Catching Fire trailer! EPICNESS! So... I don't own the HG or the image above. Buh-BYE!**


	15. Chapter 15

**So here's another chapter! I hope this one makes up for the lack of action in the other chapters. WARNING: This chapter is a bit gory. Don't read it if you're easily grossed out lol**

I stared at the blue sky as I sat against my tree. I've been sitting there for about an hour, keeping a close eye on my poisoned district partner, Timre. He hadn't gotten any better, either. His short red hair was now drenched in cold-sweat, and his eyes were heavy and glassy. He was still talking gibberish, and his eyes started to bleed every few minutes. But I had been able to stitch up the bad wounds on his face and arms, so at least he wasn't bleeding to death.

I glanced over at Timre, frowning. He was sitting against the tree, looking miserable. His eyes were closed and his head was leaning against the tree. His arms limply lay on the ground as his whole body trembled.

"Aspen..." His shaky voice whispered.

"I'm still here," I say reassuringly, patting his shoulder.

"Ditzy," He stammered, not opening his eyes. I paused, having no clue what he was trying to say.

"What?"

"Ditzy,"

"I can't understand you,"

"DITZY!" He said loudly, wincing when he did. I bit my lip. He still talked gibberish, but sometimes he could get close to the word he was trying to say.

"Uhmm... Ditzy, ditzy, ditzy... Pitsy? Pits? Do you mean armpits?" I ask, trying to find out what he meant. He weakly turned his head toward me, opening his eyes. He glared at me, as if saying, "why would I be saying armpits?!".

"Ditzy," He whispered, groaning in pain as he shut his eyes again.

"Ditzy... Um... Dizzy..." I said, thinking of what sounded like ditzy. Timre quickly grabbed my arm, nodding his head.

"Dizzy? You're dizzy?" I ask, sitting up straight. He nodded, smiling ever so slightly. I gulped hard. Dizzy spells was the fourth side-effect of getting the poison. It meant he was getting worse. A lump formed in my throat as I watched him sit there in pain. Timre was my best friend, he was like my brother. It just wasn't fair that he had to come here, it wasn't fair!

"It's okay," I finally say, not knowing what else to tell him.

"Comforters can't lick the claustrophobia," Timre mumbled, weakly wiping some sweat off of his forehead. I nodded, but had no clue what he meant. Suddenly, Timre began coughing and taking unusual deep breaths. My jaw dropped. "_How could I be so stupid? It's blazing hot out here! I need to get him some water!" _I think to myself. But then again, if I went to go get water, I'd have to leave Timre here.

"Timre, I'm going to go get some water for you, do you want to stay out here or go under the tree?" I ask, nudging him with my elbow. Timre cleared his throat, as if thinking.

"I want cats," He muttered. I paused.

"Uhhh, you want to go under the tree?" I suggest.

"Cats, Aspen, cats!" Timre stammered. I guessed that meant he wanted to stay there.

"Okay, I'm going to leave you here, but I'll be right back, okay?" I say as I pat his shoulder and stand up.

"MARIA!" Timre shouted, opening his eyes and grabbing my arm.

"What?" I ask, alarmed.

"Be shareful," He said, weakly dropping his arm and closing his eyes. I guessed that meant "be careful".

"I will. But I want you to keep this, just in case," I say, gently putting my knife in his limp hand. I know I probably should have kept the knife, but I couldn't leave Timre there defenseless. Besides, I could run and he could barely move. I grabbed the water canteen and headed off into the swamp.

* * *

I walked as fast as I could through the swamp, my mind was still on Timre. _"What have I done?" _I think to myself. I felt so guilty because it was my fault he was in this situation. He stepped on _my _poisoned stick. I put my hand on my head. I poisoned Timre, I poisoned him! My own district partner! I closed my eyes tight, frowning. Suddenly, a firm hand harshly shoved me, making me fall flat on my face. I yelped in shock as my body smashed against the mossy ground. Stunned, I spun around onto my back to see who had pushed me. The sun was shining right smack in my eyes, making it hard to see. Chills ran down my spine as I realized the person was very tall and muscular, and he was standing over me in a threatening way. I quickly cowered away, standing up at the same time. Once the sun was out of my eyes, I realized who it was.

"You owe me three fingers," A deep voice remarked, poison dripping from his voice.

"Yeah? Well you owe me an apology, Stearic!" I shout, trying to act bolder than I really felt. I glanced at Stearic's right hand; his pinky, ring finger, and middle finger were gone. I instantly remembered back to when the mutation had bitten his fingers off. Stearic's nose was broken, and he had scratches covering his face as well.

"You're going to pay," He growled, taking a menacing step toward me. My heart leaped into my throat as I realized I had no weapon! I quickly sized Stearic up and down; I instantly came to a conclusion. I had _no _chance of winning against him! I spun around and ran as fast as my legs would go. I heard Stearic's footsteps behind me as he chased after me.

"You really think you can outrun me? HA!" Stearic laughed as he began to gain on me. My heart was racing! _"What do I do?!" _I thought as I leaped over a fallen log. Stearic flew over the log, and he was almost at arms-length. In the distance, I saw the river where I had first saw Timre. I had no plan, so I just ran toward it, hoping something would happen.

"I've got you now!" Stearic shouted as he slowed down to a jog. I stopped at the edge of the river, fear suddenly causing me to stop. The river was unusually high today, and I was at the rapids. I have no idea how to swim, there's no way I'd make it across alive. I slowly turned around to face Stearic, who was devilishly grinning. I was breathing heavily, and my mind raced to try to figure out what to do now.

"You're so weak and pathetic," He said with a smirk as he stepped toward me. I glared at him, trying to intimidate him. The river was so loud that it was hard to hear Stearic.

"You're so gullible! Honestly! Tricking you was like taking candy from a baby," He chuckled, shaking his head as he continued to walk toward me. The sound of the rapids behind me screamed for me not to go into the river, but Stearic stood between me and freedom. What to do...

"I mean I thought you caught me there a few times, but all I had to do was tell a little white lie and you trusted me," He laughed, but anger was in his eyes. I opened my mouth to speak, but no words would come out! My knees were knocking in fear, but I didn't dare let Stearic notice my terror.

"I trusted you," I finally hissed, clenching my fists.

"And that one time I even saw the signal, and you saw me notice it, but you still didn't get it," He mocked. He was now so close that I could punch him. I thought back to when Stearic and I were in the cave and he was all huddled up. I had thought he was sick because he looked pale, but then he had gotten up and walked to the entrance. I saw him smile as if he saw something in the distance, and now I knew that he had seen the signal to go set the trap.

I took a step back, my foot going into the rushing water. The roar of the rapids thundered in my ears, making it hard to come up with a plan. I gulped hard, realizing that I could die in a few minutes.

"You want to know the ironic part? Before the signal, I actually felt kind of bad for you! Almost didn't do it! But now.." His voice trailed off as he stared into my eyes. Chills ran down my spine, knowing these could be the last words I ever hear.

"Now, you have to pay!" He snapped as he reached for me. I quickly clenched my fist and punched him as hard as I could in the mouth. Stearic winced, but then grabbed a chunk of my hair. He swung his other arm in the air, ready to punch me back. I quickly kicked him where the sun don't shine, making him double over in pain. He glared at me, blood dripping from where I had punched his mouth.

"Oh, it is so on!" He shouted as he grabbed my throat and threw me toward the river! I instinctively grabbed a hold of his shirt, making him fly after me. We crashed into the roaring river with a loud splash! I took a deep breath just before my head shot below the rapids. It was a weird feeling to have nothing under my feet, nothing to grab onto, nothing to help me; yet be pushed and beaten by the unforgiving river. I somehow kept my grip on Stearic's shirt, and I instinctively clung to him for dear life! I felt helpless as Stearic and I rolled in the powerful current of the river. My heart raced as my lunges began to ache from lack of air, but I didn't dare let go of Stearic's shirt. Even though he was my mortal enemy right now, he was the only solid thing to hang on to.

Somehow, my head popped up above the river! I quickly inhaled as deeply as I could, only to be ripped beneath the water again. Fear raged through my body as my mind kept screaming that I could die in a few seconds. I had no idea what Stearic was doing or if he was okay, I just clung to his shirt as the river tossed us to and fro. It was like the water was pounding into me, trying to beat me up. Every few seconds, my head would pop up and I would have only a split second to take a breath before I plunged back into the dark, freezing water. I felt like I was in a tornado as the current spun me around in endless circles. I felt so dizzy and weak from not breathing normally that I could feel my grip slowly loosening on Stearic's shirt! _"No! Hang on, Aspen!" _I tell myself as I use every ounce of strength to hang onto my enemy.

It felt like I kept spinning and spinning until suddenly, I stopped! Everything seemed to slow down and the roar of the rapids grew gentler._ "Did we actually just make it through the rapids?!" _I think to myself as my body seemed free from the current. I just stayed there, in shock. Slowly, Stearic and I floated to the top of the river! I quickly ripped my head out of the water, gasping for my breath. It felt so good to be able to breathe for more than two seconds! I heard Stearic gasping for his air beside me, I was still clinging to his soaked shirt. I didn't know how to swim, but apparently he did. He was treading water, so I just hung onto his shirt to stay afloat.

"We... made it!" I cough, spitting some water out of my mouth. But my feeling of victory was short-lived. Stearic took a deep breath.

"No, I made it!" He shouted as he ripped his shirt out of my grasp. My eyes widened as I sank under the river. I flailed my arms furiously, trying to swim back to the top. I could hear Stearic chuckling from above. I quickly grabbed his foot, yanking myself up. I yanked so hard that I had enough momentum to get my head out of the water. I knew I couldn't go back under the dark, dooming water because I wouldn't come back up. Stearic would swim away and I would drown! As soon as my head cleared the water, I outstretched my hand and sank my nails into Stearic's cheek. Once my nails were deep into his cheek, I yanked back with all my might. Stearic shouted in pain, grabbing my hand and trying to loosen my grip. Water flew in the air, blinding me for a split second. But I didn't have time to care, I had to get to shore and Stearic was my ticket there. I then grabbed his arm with my other hand, sinking my nails into his tough skin.

"Argg!" Stearic coughed up some water as I pushed his head beneath the river. He quickly sprang back up, but I still had a firm grasp on his cheek. He instinctively began to kick his feet, subconsciously swimming toward shore. Blood began to drizzle into the greenish water from his cheek and arm.

"You sure put up a fight, huh?" Stearic muttered through clenched teeth as he grabbed at my face, shoving my head under the dark water. I pulled on his cheek, distracting him so I could get my head back up. We were slowly going toward shore, _slowly. _I was choking on the water I had swallowed, making me concentrate on coughing it up. Stearic suddenly kicked me in my stomach as hard as he could, nearly making me let go of him. But I knew that if I dared let go of Stearic, I was done for. I dug my nails deeper into his cheek, desperately hanging on for dear life.

"Get off of me!" Stearic demanded as he kicked me over and over. My stomach began to go numb with pain, but my ribs didn't. My ribs began throbbing, and it felt like he was about to break my bones! I clenched my teeth tight.

"This is for tricking me!" I shout as I let go of his arm with my other hand and snatch his cheekbone, right beneath his eye. Stearic let out a yell of pain as I sank my nails into the tender skin around his eye. Now I was holding his face with both hands, one on his cheek and the other near his eye. Blood drizzled down his handsome face, fading into the water. We were almost to shore now! But Stearic wasn't going down without a fight. He grabbed my lower jaw with one hand, and my face with the other. He instantly twisted my lower jaw, making it pop. I could feel the inside of my mouth ripping open in the awkward position he was twisting my jaw. I let out a blood-curdling scream of pain just as my feet grazed the mud. I quickly let go of Stearic now that my feet were on solid ground. I crawled toward the shore, wading through the shallow water as sobs uncontrollably came out. I instinctively grabbed my jaw and popped it back into place, wailing as I did so. I looked behind me to see Stearic crawling after me, grinning evilly. But there was something moving behind him, coming toward us. I stopped, my eyes widening. It was the mutation! It was barely noticeable as his dark scales blended in with the musky water, and Stearic didn't even notice it!

"It's such a shame that such a pretty face has to die," Stearic says with a broad smile on his face. I glanced behind Stearic at the mutation silently creeping up behind him. I glared at Stearic. I knew what I had to do.

"The joke's on you," I say in a shaky voice as I jump up, kicking him with both feet in his chest. Stearic flew backwards just as the mutation stood up, towering over me. The mutation eagerly opened his huge, ugly mouth as Stearic flew right into his vicious jaws. I closed my eyes tight as I heard Stearic scream, then go silent as the sound of cracking bones filled its place. I knew that as soon as the mutation was done eating Stearic, it would come after me. Although my ribs were aching and my jaw throbbing, I mustered up the strength and sprang to my feet, dashing out of the horrid water and racing toward the swamp. As I ran, I heard the cannon go off. Tears welled up in my eyes for some strange reason. Although I hated Stearic, I felt bad for him. But at least he couldn't kill anyone else. I took a deep breath. Stearic was dead.

**Hooday! Hope you liked it! I know it was kinda gross but hey, it's the Hunger Games! Stearic's finally dead! Yay! LOL! I don't own the Hunger Games or the image above.**


	16. Chapter 16

I ducked behind a huge bush, breathing heavily and dripping with water and blood. My heart was pounding from running out of the river, and I was shaking from watching Stearic die. I sniffed, rubbing my eyes. Although I hated Stearic, I felt traumatized. His scream echoed through my mind as I remembered kicking him into the mutation. But he was dead now, nothing I could do about it.

I cleared my throat, wiping some blood away from my mouth. While Stearic and I were fighting in the river, he had dislocated my jaw. I had popped it back into place, but it ached horribly. My whole body trembled in fear, adrenaline, and pain. My side was throbbing, especially the area where I had stitched up my wound from the stick. It hurt unusually more than my ribs. Without thinking, I gently lifted my soaked shirt and looked at my hip. I frowned, realizing Stearic had kicked me so hard that the wound had opened up again. Blood gushed out, drizzling down to the ground.

"Oh great," I muttered to myself, covering my wound with my hand. Tears uncontrollably rolled down my cheeks, I wasn't sure if it was because of the pain or because of Stearic. I glanced down at my hand, where the knife from the night I got tricked had impaled my hand. I had wrapped it up, and it was healing, but slowly. The only wound that was healing quickly was the cut on my cheek, where the District 12 boy had sliced me. I felt like a broken machine, about to break down. But I couldn't quit; if I did I would die. And Timre probably would too. _"Timre!" _I gasped, just remembering him. He was waiting for me at the tree!

I staggered shakily to my feet, spitting some blood out of my mouth. I slowly walked forward, trying to figure out where I was. Something felt off, though I couldn't put my finger on it. I looked in every direction, frowning. Suddenly, an eerie feeling swept over me. As I walked, it seemed the feeling got stronger and stronger. I stopped, staring at a huge boulder in front of me. _"That's weird,"_ I think to myself. _"I've never seen that before..." _Suddenly, I gulped as I realized something.

_"I'm on the wrong side of the river!" _

* * *

"Oh my gosh, oh my gosh!" I stammer, putting my hand on my forehead. How could I be so stupid? How did this happen? I kept my left hand pressed firmly on my hip, covering the wound as best I could. I slowly turned around, heading back toward the river. I paused, frowning. _"The mutation is in the river, I can't swim, how do I get back across?!" _I start to panic. Timre was waiting for me, and he could barely move. If one of the other tributes find him, they could easily kill him off. My ears seemed to suddenly intensify every sound, waiting for a cannon to go off. _"Don't freak out, Aspen, you can do this..." _I think, biting hard on my lower lip. Tears were still pouring down my cheeks, there was no way I could stop them. I gulped hard.

"This is so unfair," I whisper through clenched teeth. All I wanted to do was help my best friend, but there was no way to. My entire body was throbbing with pain and exhaustion, and what was it all for? Entertainment. All my sweat and tears were for the Capitol to enjoy. I clenched my right hand into a fist, anger raging through me.

"Okay, Aspen, calm down," I say to myself in a shaky voice. There had to be _some way_ to get across the raging river. I swallowed hard, looking around. My eyes settled on a small log, covered in moss. An idea suddenly popped into my head. _"If I could hang onto that log in the river, all I would have to do is kick my feet so it would float to the other side!" _

I smiled, stumbling over to the log. It was about four feet long, I was just hoping it would float. I grabbed it with my right arm and began to drag it toward the river. I had to keep my left hand on my wound, though. After what seemed like hours, I had stumbled to the river's shore. Now all I had to do was get to the other side. My eyes scanned the gloomy, rushing water for the alligator mutation. My throat went dry with fear when I thought about it's ugly face and it's huge jaws of death.

I slowly, cautiously waded into the cold river, pulling the heavy log out in front of me. I tried to be as quiet as I could, my eyes searching the water for the monster. It could be _anywhere._ Icy chills shot down my spine like needles, and my heart kept pounding in my ears. It seemed every sound was intensified and loud as I clung to the log. Now I was so deep in the water that the ground grazed the bottom of my shoes. I leaned into the log, wrapping my right arm around it tightly. Luckily, the log floated along the top of the river without a problem. I pressed my head against the log, trying to calm my nerves. But my mind insisted on picturing the mutation slowly stalking me from under the water, coming up and snatching me in it's jaws.

I started breathing heavily as I frantically looked in every direction. _"Stay calm, stay calm!" _I scolded myself as I tightened my grip around the log. My feet began to kick faster as the log slowly floated toward the other side. The current pulled me down the river, but I was kicking forward, so I was going at a weird angle. I _was _going toward the shore, thankfully. Water gushed into my face, making my choke and cough. The water was freezing, but I didn't really care. My mind was on the mutation, and if I had been spotted yet.

"Almost there, almost there," I whispered to myself, but it didn't help my nerves. I was still on edge, but I was half way there. If I could just make it to the other side, I could get to Timre! I shook my head, sending water flying through the air. I couldn't give up now! I was so close! Suddenly, something hard grazed my legs! I let out a squeal of fear, kicking my feet as hard as I could.

"I'M GONNA DIE!" I scream instinctively, which is the _worst _thing to do when a giant alligator is chasing after you. I was flat in the middle of the river, I was done for! I closed my eyes, clenching my teeth so they wouldn't chatter. My whole body shook with terror, knowing these were my last seconds. Sobs threatened to erupt out of my mouth, but I wouldn't dare cry again. I wouldn't let the Capitol kill me while I looked weak. I tensed, waiting for the big attack.

It was about a minute later that I realized I wasn't in the process of being eaten! _"What on Earth is he waiting for?" _I think to myself, cautiously opening my eyes. I wrinkled my eyebrows, looking around. The mutation was no where in sight! Suddenly, something hard rubbed against my legs again! Getting a sudden burst of courage, I instinctively let go of my hip with my left hand and reached into the water, grabbing whatever it was. I yanked it out of the chilly water, holding it in front of my face. I drew in a sharp breath when I realized it was one of Stearic's shoes.

"YUCK!" I scream, throwing it as far away from me as possible.

"There better not be random body parts of his in here!" I mumble as I continue kicking my feet, feeling like a complete idiot. I have a strange feeling that the mutation won't be coming after me, at least not tonight.

* * *

I finally made it across the river, and I was in one piece; more or less. My body felt as if it were about to collapse in exhaustion, but I forced myself to go into the dreaded swamp. I was so tired that I practically waddled through the swamp, willing myself to put one foot in front of the other. The sun beat down on my back, warming me up from the river. I was still soaking wet, though. I clasped my hand on my hip again, wincing in pain. Finally, my tree came into view. I stumbled over to the tree, only to be greeted by puddles of vomit. My eyes widened, not seeing Timre!

"Timre! Where are you?!" I yell, leaning against the tree weakly.

"I'm in here," A shaky voice replied from under the roots of my tree. I quickly got on my hands and knees, crawling under the tree.

"Timre? You can talk!" I say, smiling. Timre was lying on his back, looking pale and sick still.

"Yeah, I started talking normally about an hour ago, then I started puking," He replied, coughing.

"Yeah, I noticed that," I mutter as I sit down. Vomiting was the fifth sign of the poison, next was a state where he couldn't tell if he was in the past or the present. And lastly, if he had gotten enough poison, death.

"Where'd you go, anyway? You took forever!" Timre demanded, not bothering to look at me.

"I kind of... ran into Stearic," I reply, closing my eyes. It felt so good to rest for a few minutes.

"Oh yeah, your loverboy," Timre remarked, grinning. I opened my eyes, glaring at him.

"He tried to kill me! He's not my loverboy!" I answer, huffing. Timre raised his eyebrows.

"I told you that I should be your only guy friend, but did you listen? Nooo..." Timre joked, laughing a bit.

"Yeah, well, he's dead now," I say, holding my side. Timre lifted his head, looking at me with a puzzled expression.

"YOU KILLED HIM?!" Timre asked, smiling broadly.

"No, the mutation did," I answer, closing my eyes. Timre rested his head back down.

"What in the world is 'the mutation'?" Timre asked, coughing. He was still trembling and sweating from the poison. I frowned, realizing he hadn't encountered the mutation yet.

"They made an alligator mutation, it killed Yopa and Stearic," I reply, shaking my head.

"Oh, that's just what we need," Timre said, wincing and coughing. He suddenly flipped onto his side, coughing.

"Timre, are you oka-" I began to ask. Timre suddenly threw up, wincing in pain as he did.

"Oh yuck..." I mumble, closing my eyes. Timre's body shook with pain as he flipped back onto his back. I frowned, opening my eyes. I felt bad for him. I slowly scooted next to him, patting his shoulder.

"Hey, don't get all mushy, I'm fine," Timre joked, closing his eyes but grinning. I nodded, not saying anything.

"Timre, can I ask you something?" I finally remark, breaking the silence. Timre opened his eyes.

"Yeah, go for it," He answered, swallowing hard.

"Why'd you run away from me at the river?" I ask, continuing to pat his shoulder. Timre sighed, as if not wanting to answer.

"The truth?" He asked, closing his eyes again.

"The truth," I answer, looking at him. Timre drew in a deep breath.

"I went to go get a drink, and I saw you in the river. You just looked so stinkin' ugly I just had to run," Timre announced, laughing at his joke. I rolled my eyes.

"Timre!"

"Alright, alright! I knew you allied with jerkface, and I knew that he would kill me if he got the chance. I decided to not talk to you, so you wouldn't lead him to me. You mad?" He asked, opening his eyes and smiling innocently at me. I shook my head, shrugging.

"No, I'm not mad, you were right about him," I said, putting my head in my hands. Timre cleared his throat.

"Aren't I always right?" He grinned. I smiled slightly, but my heart sank.

"You were so, so right... I mean, why didn't I listen to you?" I say loudly, putting my head in my hands.

"Because you're stupid," Timre joked, laughing. I didn't say anything. I pulled my knees up to my chest and buried my face into my knees. Timre suddenly got a look of confusion, wondering why I wasn't laughing along.

"Uhhh, I was just kidding! Don't cry! I was just kidding!" Timre remarked, attempting to sit up. He was too weak to sit up, though. He grunted, annoyed that he couldn't sit. I just sat there, not knowing what to do, so I just kept my face buried. Timre frowned.

"I'm not going to cry," I mutter "I'm just tired," I add, closing my eyes. Timre patted my foot, since he couldn't reach my shoulder.

"It's okay, pal," He said, smiling weakly yet encouragingly.

* * *

It was now nighttime, and I was watching Timre as he slept. Even while he was asleep, his body shook uncontrollably. He's thrown up like 50 times today, and he was just as tired as I was. I dreaded the next symptom, the part where he wouldn't be able to tell if he was in present or past. But I still had hope that a sponsor would send a cure. Suddenly, a cannon went off!

"OHMIGOSH! Timre, are you dead?!" I scream in horror. Timre jumped out of his sleep, looking alarmed.

"What!" He shouted, looking frightened.

"Oh, you're not dead," I say with a sigh of relief. Timre stared at me for a second.

"Of course I'm not dead, you crazy person!" Timre remarked, relief in his eyes. He laid his head back on the ground, coughing.

"Wish I was dead," Timre muttered, looking miserable. He wiped some sweat off of his forehead, wincing. Then, another cannon went off, making us both jump.

"What, are people jumping off cliffs?!" Timre mumbled, frowning.

"Timre, that's terrible!" I say, narrowing my eyes at him.

"Sorry, I'm just... Not in a good mood... I mean, I could die from this poison any minute, but your feelings come before my health, I'm so sorry," Timre said sarcastically, closing his eyes. I inwardly roll my eyes. Timre sighed, looking over at me, seeing my annoyance.

"Okay, okay, sorry," He replied, smiling innocently. "Do you forgive me?" He added, giving me puppy-dog eyes.

"Fine," I laugh, shaking my head.

* * *

Timre had drifted back off to sleep, he was kind of snappy because of being sick. I didn't mind, I knew he was in tremendous pain. I slowly crawled out of from under the tree, looking up at the sky to see how had died. Sure enough, the pictures showed up on the arena screen. First, Stearic's face appeared, then Clartia's face, and lastly the girl from District 2. I frowned, crawling back into under the tree. I watched Timre sleep, but eventually I got so tired that I drifted off to sleep myself.

I slowly opened my eyes, waking up. I heard a weird... chime? I blinked, letting my eyes adjust to the darkness. My heart skipped a beat when I saw something silver land in the entrance of the hole. I instantly crawled out, grabbing it. I laughed in pure joy. It was a sponsor gift! Finally, someone cared! I ripped the top off, anxious to see what was inside. Inside lay a little jar of liquid, and a note which read "Give the kid this, it will take effect in a few hours. Good luck. -R". I squealed in delight, darting under the tree.

"TIMRE!" I scream, shaking him violently.

"AHH!" Timre shrieked, waking up in fright.

"We got it! We got it!" I laugh uncontrollably with joy.

"We got what?!" Timre demanded, grinning with interest.

"Ruby sent us the cure! You're going to be okay!" I shout, continuing to shake him. Timre smiled, relief flooding over his face.

"Well, are you going to sit there shaking me senseless or are you gonna give it to me?" Timre laughed, joy in his voice. I laugh along, shoving the jar to his lips. Timre instantly gulped it down, making weird faces.

"That... was the most disgusting thing I've ever tasted!" Timre coughed, sticking his tongue out and wiping his tongue off. I was too happy to be disgusted.

"You're okay! You're okay!" I say, slapping his shoulder in glee. Timre winced.

"Ow! Sheesh! Calm yourself!" Timre grinned, shaking his head. We sat there, smiling at each other for a few moments.

"Uhh... this is weird," He finally announced.

"Yeah, a little, nevermind," I laughed, scooting away.

"Can I go to sleep now without you waking me up with a scream?" He asked, resting his head on the dirt. I laughed, nodding.

"Yeah, fine," I grinned, lying down myself. I closed my eyes, trying to go to sleep.

**Hooday! So... TIMRE IS CURED! WOOPY! I'm just kidding, no one says whoopy anymore, but Timre is still cured! I know there's not much action in this chapter but there will be soon... soon... And please review, follow, and fave... and PM if you have any suggestions for the story! I don't own the HG or the image above.**


	17. Chapter 17

I don't know how long I had been asleep, but it felt amazing to actually sleep for a few hours. It didn't last long, though.

"It's okay, nanna, I don't want anymore chocolate," Timre's voice boomed, waking me up. I blinked, slowly sitting up. The sun was just beginning to come up, it was around 7:00 I guessed.

"Timre, what are you talking about?" I asked slowly, yawning and rubbing my heavy eyes.

"Oooh! Pancakes! Gee, mom, you're the best!" Timre laughed, his back was toward me. I paused, confused.

"Timre, turn around and look at me," I say slowly, reaching over and tapping his shoulder. Timre tensed when I touched him, he shrugged his shoulder away from me.

"Okay, that's it," I say as I grab the collar of his shirt and drag him out from under the tree. I let him go when we were outside. He plopped on the ground with a loud thud. I gasped when I saw him. His face was so white it was almost green, his eyes were very glazed over and foggy-looking. I swallowed hard. He was at the side-effect to where he can't tell if he's in the present or past. The next side-effect was death.

"Oh no... Timre..." I stammer, feeling helpless. The cure would take hours before it began to take effect, he might be dead by then. Suddenly, Timre's goofy smile disappeared, it seemed as if his mind was clearing up for a second.

"Aspen! What's going on?!" He demanded, sitting up straight.

"It's a side-effect, b-but don't worry, you'll be okay," I remarked, biting my lower lip. Suddenly, he got hid goofy smile on again.

"Shut your mouth, Paul, you're so weird," Timre muttered.

"I hate your guts, how dare you say that to me!" He added, frowning. I sighed, hoping the cure would kick in soon.

"I guess I'll have to put up with this for a while," I muttered, watching Timre.

* * *

For the past hour, I've been listening to Timre carry on about random things. The cure was slow, but eventually would kick in. I just had to wait. I stared at Timre, who was talking to himself. He thought he was in the past but he would snap out of it every few minutes; only to go right back to thinking he was in the past.

"But mom, everyone else is playing outside!" Timre whined. "Why can't I go? Everybody else will be there! You're just punishing me because I'm amazing," Timre added, subconsciously crossing his arms. Suddenly, Timre got very serious.

"Wait, mom... Where are we going?" His voice began to shake. I raised my eyebrows, wondering why he suddenly got so emotional. Timre drew in a sharp breath.

"Why are we going to Town Square?" He said slowly, breathing quickly. I frowned, digging my fingers into the soft dirt as I watched him. Suddenly, Timre jumped to is feet.

"NO!" He screamed in horror, making me jump in fright! Timre then spun around, racing into the swamp at full speed. My eyes widened, knowing he thought he was somewhere in his past. I leaped to my feet and ran after him.

"Timre! Wait!" I shout, knowing full well he won't hear me.

"Mom! Don't let them do this!" He screamed as loud as his lunges would let him. My jaw dropped. The other tributes could hear us and come kill us!

"Timre! Shh!" I try to whisper loudly as I chase after him. But suddenly, Timre jolted to a stop, almost making me run right smack into him!

"Whoa, Timre, watch it!" I mumble as I dodge him, stopping when I'm in front of him. I paused when I realized tears were rolling down his cheeks. His eyes slowly cleared up, the cure was finally working! I smiled from joy that he was alright, but I was confused on why he was crying.

"Aspen w... where are we?" He asked, putting his hand on his forehead, a confused expression on his face as well.

"You jumped up and ran," I replied, breathing in deeply to catch my breath. Timre swallowed hard, wiping his tears with his sleeve.

"That was weird," He mumbled, looking around in all directions.

"Yeah... Why were you crying?" I asked, curious. Timre paused, wrinkling his eyebrows.

"I... I wasn't crying!" He remarked, acting offended as he turned and began to walk.

"Yeah you were-" I began to say.

"Am I gonna live now?" Timre asked, interrupting me.

"Yeah, 'course you are," I say with a sad smile. Timre sighed in relief, and kept walking towards our tree.

* * *

I kept wondering what he was crying about, but whenever I tried to ask him, he'd brush it off with a joke and walk faster. My curiosity began to overwhelm my mind, but he's so secretive! What really bothered me was that he looked like he could burst out crying any second.

"Timre, stop!" I demand, putting my hand on his shoulder and forcing him to a stop.

"Just tell me already," I say, looking him in the eye.

"Tell you what?! There's nothing to tell!" Timre yells, throwing his hands in the air.

"What happened back there, whatever you saw back there... It's killing you inside and you know it!" I say loudly, hoping that he'd tell me if I shouted.

"What I saw is none of your business, so buzz off!" He yells as he yanks his shoulder free and stomps toward our tree.

"Timre!" I yell, following him as I frown.

"I'm your district partner and I barely know _anything_ about you!" I argue, frowning. Timre turned around and narrowed his eyes, as if he was mad at me for prying.

"You don't need to know anything about me!" He snapped, tightening his jaw. I raised my eyebrows in shock, Timre never gets mad at me!

"What's wrong with you?!" I ask with a huff.

"Fine! If I tell you, will you shut your big mouth about it?!" He demanded, crossing his arms.

"Yes!" I sigh, looking at him square in the eye. His eyes narrowed as he swallowed hard, whatever he was about to say was tough for him.

"Fine... My family's always been poor. When I was 12, we barely had enough food for one person," His voice trailed off as his eyes filled with pain. I nodded slowly.

"Well one day my dad came home with five chickens, he wouldn't say where he got them but I didn't care, at least my mom and I had food. Turns out he stole them, and the next day peacekeepers came and arrested him. They publicly executed him in front of the entire district, there!" Timre blurted out as he spun around and marched back to the tree. My jaw dropped. I did remember a few years ago when they executed a man for theft, but I had no idea it was Timre's father!

"Oh my word, Timre, I'm so sorry," I say quietly as I followed him. My heart sank, all this time it had been Timre's father. I remembered seeing a skinny little redheaded boy crying and trying to get to the man about to be executed on stage, but I remembered the mother holding him back.

"No you're not! No one cared, no one did anything!" He muttered as he leaned against the tree, looking away. My eyebrows raised.

"But Timre, no one could! If we did, then we'd die-"

"I don't want to talk about this anymore, you said you'd shut it!" Timre muttered, pain in his voice. I frowned and walked over to him. Surprising even myself, I hugged Timre. I felt so bad for him! His father was not only killed in front of Timre, but the whole district. Timre tensed when I hugged him, but I could feel him rest his head on my shoulder.

"Nobody cared," He whispered with a quiet voice.

"I care," I replied. Timre awkwardly pulled away, looking at me.

"Yeah, well you only care cuz you're a girl and girls get all mushy when someone starts crying," Timre remarked, grinning slightly. I laughed slightly.

"We do not get mushy!" I laugh, shaking my head.

"Oooh! You're crying! It's so touching! Waaaaah!" Timre joked dramatically, pretending to be me. I laughed more, he looked like a weirdo.

"You're a weird little kid," I say as I shake my head.

* * *

Timre and I were now leaning against the tree, he was trying to get me to sing.

"Come on, just sing!" He complained, grinning at me.

"No! This is the Hunger Games, you don't sing in the Games, genius!" I laugh, rolling my eyes.

"But you have to!" He demanded, smirking.

"No way! Everyone would think I was nuts! And someone could hear me and come kill us," I reply, looking up at the sky. The sky was a bright blue, and the sun was pounding down on my face. Bugs chirped everywhere, making the swamp noisy. There was also a weird smell lingering in the air, making me wrinkle my nose.

"Just sing like this,_ MY BUTT ITCHES! I SHOULD SCRATCH IT BUT I DON'T WANT TO!_" He sang at the top of his lunges. I burst out laughing, clasping my hand over is mouth.

"Does the phrase 'Someone could hear me and come kill us' mean anything to you?!" I laugh as Timre shoved my hand away off his mouth.

"Hey, they won't kill me! They'll be so grateful to hear my amazing singing voice that they wouldn't lay a finger on me, they might kill you, though," He grinned, "so sing!"

"No way! You're a crazy person-" I began to argue when suddenly, I heard voices in the distance! Timre paused as he stared at me, wondering why I stopped talking.

"Did you hear that?" I whisper, looking in all directions. Timre raised his eyebrows.

"No..." He began to say.

"Under the tree! Quick!" I hiss as I scramble under the roots of the tree, hiding. Timre, although puzzled, quickly followed.

"Shut your mouth and listen!" Clutch's voice ordered as he emerged from some bushes in front of our tree. Timre's eyes widened as he slowly scooted farther under the tree. The girl from District 1 jumped out of the bushes as well, following Clutch. I held my breath, hoping they wouldn't notice Timre and I hiding.

"He's gone crazy," Clutch hissed, spinning around to face the girl.

"I don't believe you, Zeke wouldn't lose his cool," She argued, narrowing her eyes at Clutch.

"No, he's completely nuts now!" Clutch groaned, crossing his arms.

"Is Zeke that blonde kid?" Timre whispered in my ear.

"Shhh!" I hiss, slapping my hand over his mouth. Timre huffed, looking bored.

"Oh yeah? When did he go crazy?!" She snapped at Clutch.

"When his girlfriend, Yopa, died, Berna!" Clutch muttered. Berna put her hands on her hips.

"He's killing anyone he comes in contact with, he totally betrayed the alliance!" Clutch continued.

"He blames the alliance for her death?"

"He blames that District 8 girl; Aspen, I think it is," Clutch remarked. I almost gasped, but I held it back. Timre looked at me in shock.

"Why her?" Berna pried.

"I dunno, he's crazy, I told you! When we finally left the mutation attack, he kept muttering about how the love of his life was dead because of 8," Clutch explained, shrugging. Berna sighed.

"We could have used him! He's the strongest tribute here!" Berna groaned. Clutch glared at her.

"Besides you," She smiled innocently.

"Even if he did join our new alliance, what good would he be? All we have to do is finish the District 8 pair, then it's just us and him," Clutch chuckled. That's when it hit me; it's just me, Timre, the two in front of me, and Zeke. The Games were almost over, but there was still more blood about to be shed.

"Fine, fine! We won't ask him to join our alliance!" Berna said, throwing her hands in the air.

"Besides, he'd probably slit our throats while we slept, the maniac!" Clutch muttered as he walked off, followed by Berna. I could hear them talking as they walked off, but I couldn't understand what they were saying. It was then that I noticed my heart thudding in my chest! I was trembling with fear, and I felt chills running down my spine. The most feared tribute was after me, he was after _me!_ I was suddenly jerked out of my thoughts as I felt a wet tongue slap against my palm.

"Oh, yuck, Timre!" I hiss as I rip my hand off of his mouth and wipe my palm on my pants.

"You wouldn't take your hand off my mouth!" He grinned, finding my disgust amusing. I didn't find it funny at all, I was scared to death!

"So, you managed to make Zeke mad, great job!" Timre joked as he pat my shoulder. I glared at him, frowning.

"I didn't do anything! They're the ones that trapped me! The mutation is the one that killed her," I mumble, trying to make myself feel better. But it didn't work, Zeke was coming after me for something I didn't do.

"Well, guess we've got ourselves a problem!" Timre chuckled, showing no fear at all. I glared at him.

"Aren't you scared?!" I demanded, narrowing my eyes.

"Well, if you recall, they said he was coming after you, not me," Timre smiled innocently, joking about it. I frowned, looking away. Timre cleared his throat.

"But since I'm allied with you, if he messes with you, he gets the beast!" Timre remarked, talking in a dramatic deep, macho voice. I raised my eyebrow at him.

"The beast?" I laugh slightly. Timre nodded, smiling and flexing his muscles.

"You know it!" He joked, crawling out from under the tree. I followed him. Timre suddenly paused.

"Is it just me, or is it kind of chilly?" He asked, crossing his arms. I shrugged. The wind was picking up a bit, but it did that occasionally.

"It's a swamp, it gets a little cold sometimes," I reply. I glanced up at the sky, it was about 6:30 in the evening. Timre shrugged.

"I'm thirsty. Let's go get some water, since you lost the canteen," Timre proclaimed as he began walking through the swamp. I followed him, shaking my head.

"Well, I'm sorry I couldn't keep a hold of a canteen as I fought for my life with Stearic!" I reply, rolling my eyes.

"Hey, we all make mistakes," Timre joked as we walked, "just not me,"

"Oh pft, you don't make mistakes?" I laugh, punching his shoulder playfully.

"Not as bad as you do," He answered, smirking. I shook my head. I cleared my throat as I noticed goosebumps forming on my arms. The wind whipped against my face, feeling like ice.

"Wow, it is getting kind of cold," I mutter, rubbing my arms for warmth. Timre shrugged.

"Suck it up," He joked as we walked. I kind of chuckled at his remark, but it was getting cold very fast. Suddenly, I noticed that I could see my breath when I exhaled!

"Whoa, it really is cold!" Timre muttered, noticing it as well. I nodded, frowning. It's never been this cold in the arena. I noticed that the bugs and frogs were beginning to go silent, which was _very _odd. For once, the swamp was kind of quiet!

"Uhh, Aspen..." Timre mumbled as he jolted to a stop.

"What?" I ask, stopping beside him.

"Look!" He said, kicking something on the ground. I jumped, gasping. It was a toad. A _dead _toad.

"Ewww!" I mutter under my breath.

"...Cool!" Timre announced, getting a goofy boyish smile on his face. Then I noticed there were lots of dead toads everywhere!

"Ew! What in the world?!" I breathe in sharply. I've never been around frogs or toads since I'm from District 8, and I didn't like them one bit!

"Weird, huh?" Timre snorted. I blinked, walking around the dead frogs and toads.

"Can I keep one?!" Timre asked, looking at me with hope in his eyes as he picked up a dead toad.

"Yuck! No!" I say, slapping the toad out of his hand. He frowned and hung his head as he followed me. After a few minutes, we made it to the river.

"Finally," Timre smiled as he plopped to his knees, cupped his hands, and dipped them in the water. I smiled as I knelt down beside him, cupping my hands as well. I brought my hands-filled with water-up to my lips. I was just about to drink the water when I realized there was a frog swimming in the river. I paused, watching it. It swam... weakly. _"That's weird," _I think to myself as I study it. The frog weakly swam to the shore, then attempted to hop away. Instead, it plopped onto the ground as it began convulsing, as if having a seizure!

"Ew! Is that normal?" I ask, but Timre didn't hear me. I narrowed my eyes at the strange little frog, when it suddenly stopped. It was dead.

"Yuck, it just died!" I mutter. _"I wonder why it died..." _I think as I felt the water resting against my lips, just waiting for me to drink it. Then I came to a conclusion.

"The water," I gasp, dropping my hands, letting the water splat into the river.

"Timre! Don't drink it!" I gasp as I swat his hands away from his mouth.

"Ow! I'm thirsty, lady!" He grunts as he shoves my arm away.

"It's poisoned! They poisoned it!" I say, my eyes wide. Timre stared at me for a second.

"You're crazy!" He remarked, shaking his head. I was about to argue, but something very loud caught both of our attention.

"Boom! Boom!" Echoed through the air, and as if one cue, the sky began to fade dark. Timre and I looked at each other.

"What on Earth is that?" Timre gulped. I shrugged. But whatever it was, it was big. I breathed in deeply. Suddenly, a loud voice boomed throughout the arena.

"Hello, tributes," Claudius Templesmith's voice said in monotone. Timre and I stared at each other, frowning.

"Uh-oh," I whispered to myself.

"Well, we're getting bored over here," Claudius chuckled, his voice dripping with evil poison. The booming sound in the distance began to get louder and louder as the sky got darker and darker.

"We're going to shake things up! Put a few... surprises in there for yah," He continued.

"That.. that can't be good!" Timre muttered slowly.

"Hope you don't mind getting wet!" Claudius snorted as his voice vanished. Suddenly, lightning streaked the sky above us, followed by a gigantic clap of thunder!

"Ooooh, I hate that guy's guts!" I sighed as rain began to fall on us like a blanket of watery doom.

"What?" Timre asked, straining his ear to hear me.

"I said I hate that guy's guts!" I shout, but my voice was drowned out by the rain.

"You're late for a fly's nuts?" Timre shouted back, looking confused. I shook my head.

"NEVERMIND!" I practically scream, standing up. Timre then said something, but I couldn't hear him. I gave him a strange look.

"Do you think the rain is poisoned too?" Timre yelled, veins popping out of his throat from yelling so loud. I paused, then shrugged.

"Let's go back to our tree!" I screamed over the roar of the thunder and the rain.

"You crazy?! That tree will be flooded out by the time we get there!" Timre shouted back, running a hand through his red hair.

"Then where do you suggest we go?!" I shout, shivering in the cold rain. This, this was pure torture. I'm not used to this much water, and to make matters worse, it was still freezing!

"To the ice cream store!" Timre shouted, frowning. I glared at him, not amused by his joke.

"There is a cave," I yell, remembering the cave where Stearic and I had first stayed when we were allies. Stearic was now dead, so it was pretty safe. Unless Zeke or the other tributes found it. Timre paused.

"There's a slave?!" He shouted, puzzled. I groaned as a clap of thunder nearly made the ground shake.

"JUST FOLLOW ME!" I scream, spinning around and walking into the swamp, followed by a confused Timre.

**Hooday! SUPER, SUPER, SORRY I haven't updated in a REALLY, REALLY, long time! I had majors writers-block! But here's a chapter and I hope you like it! Not much action, but there will be in the next chapter, which I hope to do this week sometime. For those of you asking, the scene from the summary will be taking place VERY, VERY, soon! We're talking like next chapter soon! Anyway, PLEASE review, follow, and fave! I'll try to update this week! Buh-bye! And I don't own the HG, or the pic above.**


	18. Chapter 18

**So, so, so sorry I haven't update in like a week! I've had MAJOR writers-block! But here's a chapter! There will be some action at the end of the chapter, but The first half of the chapter I'm just filling in the blanks.**

* * *

About a five minutes ago Timre and I found the cave that Stearic and I sheltered in earlier in the Games, which Timre and I are now using as shelter from the rain. As soon as we made sure no one was in the cave, Timre went into a deep sleep, seeing as how he hasn't slept peacefully in a while. Which meant I was taking watch.

I didn't have anything else to do but keep watch due to the thundering rain outside the cave. It's been pouring rain outside for about two hours. It was raining so badly that I could barely see anything outside the cave! Timre and I were still absolutely soaked to the bone in rain water!

I zoned out of my thoughts and look over at Timre, who's already asleep, laying on his back and his legs and arms sprawled out. I chuckle, he looks like a starfish. I'd light a fire, but I don't have anything to light it with, and it wouldn't be to smart seeing as the smoke would tell us out. But I need to do something with these wet clothes or I'll get sick. I look over at Timre, he's going to get sick too if he stays in his wet clothes. I sigh, those stupid Gamemakers, as if fighting to the death wasn't enough!

I stand up, pain shooting through my legs from walking so much. I walk over to Timre's sleeping body, I kneel down and shake his shoulder gently. Timre reluctantly wakes up and rubs his eyes.

"What is it?" He mumbles, sitting up and looking around.

"We have to take our clothes off," I say blankly. Timre's head shot over at me, a _very_ confused look on his face. Okay, that did not sound right!

"Excuse me?!" He asks, his mouth hanging open and his eyebrow raised.

"That came out wrong," I say as I shake my head, "what I meant was that we'll get sick if we stay in these wet clothes," I add.

"Do we have to take off all our clothes?" Timre asks, eyebrow still raised.

"Ew, no, just some clothes," I reply, shaking my head again. One thing I will never do is take off all my clothes on live television with all Panem watching!

"What do you mean 'ew'?" Timre asks with a appalled look on his face. "I know you want to see me shirtless!" Timre joked flirtatiously, wiggling his eyebrows and goofy grin on his face. I laugh, rolling my eyes.

"You know what I mean, Timre," I say as I take my jacket off. A voice booms through the arena, and I know it's Claudius Templesmith.

"Ladies and gentlemen! At midnight, we will be hosting the Feast! I know it's long over-due, but I promise you what awaits you there is worth the wait! So, I bid you best of luck, and may the odds be ever in your favor!" I listen very closely as I slowly remove my shirt, and I've never been more grateful to have a under-shirt on! No one says anything as we start to strip down to our undershirts.

"So are we going?" Timre asks suddenly as he removes his shirt, to reveal his white under-shirt.

"I don't know, I don't think we really need to go, we already have everything we need," I reply. I take off my pants, thankfully there is some kind of elastic, black shorts under my pants, so I won't have to be walking around in my under-wear in front Timre.

"Come on, Aspen, whatever is at the Feast is going to be useful. I mean it could be a weapon, which we definitely need if we run into tributes, or food, which we don't have," Timre says, looking me straight in the eye. I remove my shoes and socks as I think about what I'm going to do.

"Let me think about it, we have a few hours till midnight, we'll rest up and then I'll tell you if we're going, okay?" I ask laying out my clothes on the cave floor to dry out.

"Well, why can't I decide if we going or not?" Timre asks, kinda sounding like a two year old, which makes me chuckle.

"Because I'm the three years older then you, so... yeah, " I say, teasing him.

"That is not a good reason! I need hard proof," Timre says jokingly, raising his eyebrows.

"Okay... maybe because... you'd be dead if not for me," I say in a feisty tone, giving him a smirk. Timre stares at me for a second, thinking of a remark.

"Well, be glad I'm alive, I know you'd die without my awesome-sauce karate moves," Timre says jokingly, finally stripped down to his under-shirt an the same type of shorts I'm wearing. I laugh at his joke, rolling my eyes.

"Whatever," I say with a final chuckle. Timre paused, looking at my clothes then his.

"Well, this is awkward. We could have avoided wearing the same outfit if you had just consulted me first," Timre joked, putting his hands on his hips sarcastically. I roll my eyes at his lame joke.

"Oh shut your mouth and go to sleep, kid," I grin as I ruffle his hair and turn my back to him. Timre narrowed his eyes in offense.

"Hey, I'm no 'kid'," He remarks as he lies down and closes his eyes. I watch the pounding rain fall as a huge clap of thunder nearly shakes the whole arena. I frown, huffing under my breath. I hated this._ Hated_ it. I cough as I wonder if my aunt Litch was watching me now, if she was even alive. If she was alive, was she proud of me? Was she ashamed because I'm allied with my district partner instead of facing the Games alone?

I sighed, closing my eyes just as another thunder crack echoed through the air. What _if _I won and I went home, only to find out Aunt Litch had passed away? I'd be alone, what would I have to live for? I could get a husband, have children, start a family, but do I really want to put my children's life in danger of the Games? Do I really want to put their life on the line? I know that thought enters every teenager who lives in the district's mind sometime in their life. And Timre would have to die in order for me to go home, go home to my Aunt. But if my Aunt dies by the time I get home, and I have nothing left to live for, Timre's life would have been wasted.

I don't want to be responsible for Timre's life or death. If Timre dies and I win, and if by the time I get home my Aunt dies, I couldn't live with the guilt. I mean that. I couldn't live with the thought that Timre died so I could live, that he couldn't go home to his family, live a happy life, and die of old age so I could live. The guilt would kill me! But I still have one thing to live for and that's my Aunt Litch, if I win I could cure her, and I'd have something to live for. So it's either Timre or my Aunt Litch. I can't pick between to two so I guess I'm just have to see where fate takes me, whether it be the grave or home.

* * *

A thunder crackle wakes me up from sleep, the strange thing is I didn't know I was sleeping! I must have fallen asleep while I was thinking about my aunt and Timre. I look around and I could barely see anything, it's pitch black. Which means that it was probably past midnight, therefore the Feast is here. I sigh as I think about what I'm going to do. What Timre said before was right, whatever is at the Feast is going to help us out a lot! Like a weapon we could use badly, all we have is a knife, and food is something we need badly too, seeing as though we only have a bit of food left in my backpack.

Guess I'm going to have to take the chance and go to the Feast. Hopefully no other tributes are there, though I highly doubt that. I walked over to Timre and shook his shoulder gently.

"Wha...?" He mumbles as he sits up, his eyes barely open.

"We're going to the feast," I say flatly, I'm not sugar-coating this one. Timre slowly registered what I said.

"Okay. We're leaving now?"

"Yep, get your clothes on," I say as pick up my clothes from the old, cave floor.

"The clothes are still a bit wet, but it'll have to do," I say as I pull my shirt over my head.

"I'm glad they're wet, I need somethin' to cool down my smokin' hot body!" Timre jokes as he pulls his pants up over his shorts and poses. I roll my eyes inwardly as I do the same. I glanced out of the entrance of the cave. It was still raining, but luckily, the rain was letting up a bit. In fact, it was a light rain.

For now.

"I feel like we're going into battle or something," Timre chuckled as he pulled on his shoes. I paused, frowning.

"Let's hope we aren't," I say in all seriousness. Timre lowered his eyes to the ground, realizing that we could be dead soon. I cleared my throat, patting his shoulder reassuringly.

"Ewww, don't touch me, woman!" Timre laughed as he walked out of the cave.

* * *

My heart began pounding with worry as I listened to Timre's and my footsteps slosh in the soggy ground. We were close to the Cornucopia, possibly closer to death. Timre was whistling to himself a joyful tune, acting as if he had not a care in the world. I drew in a sharp breath, I envied him. No matter the situation, Timre could pull through it and make anyone smile. He didn't care if he got hurt, he cared about lightening the situation. The tune was soft and slow to my ears, slightly easing my tension. It calmed my nerves, taking my mind off of all the evilness for a split second. The song kind of sounded like the tune he hummed on the hovercraft, which was also uplifting.

"Timre, is that what you were humming on the hovercraft?" I ask quietly as we walk. Timre stopped whistling, as if thinking deeply.

"Is what what I was humming on the hovercraft?" He asked slowly.

"What you're whistling,"

"...I was whistling?" I burst out laughing at his confused expression.

"Yes, yes you were," I say slowly. Timre grinned.

"I dunno, guess it was," He shrugged as he walked beside me. I smiled, my heart beginning to slow down to a normal calm pace.

"It's pretty, where did you learn it?" I ask as I kick a weed out of my way. Timre coughed, shrugging.

"My mom sang it to me to help me sleep, you know, after dad..." His voice trailed off as he looked away. I nodded, knowing he meant after his father was executed.

"It calms me down," He smiled, shaking his head. I grinned, beginning to walk faster.

"Well, I like it," I said as I look around. The rain was soft now, but it did dampen our clothes. It was still deathly cold, too. Rain and freezing weather are not a good combination, but my body was kind of numb now. Plus, I was moving a lot, so I was pretty warm under the circumstances. Timre began to whistle the tune again, practically making my worries slip away into the dark night.

The whole way to the Cornucopia, Timre whistled the tune. It got stuck in my head, but I loved the song so I didn't mind. Suddenly, Timre firmly stuck his arm out in front of me, forcing me to stop in my tracks.

"Whoa, what-" I began to say.

"Shhh! We're here," Timre whispered. Chills shot down my spine like icy water as my eyes scanned the surroundings. There was a huge strip of swamp that went all around the Cornucopia, which lay alone in the wide-open field. The Cornucopia was about a block away from the swamp, so it would take a few minutes to get there. There no tributes in sight, but that didn't mean they weren't there. I forced my body to breathe slowly and calmly, this was _not _the time to freak out. Timre cautiously looked in all directions, his body tense with anticipation. I frowned, looking at the Cornucopia. There were two bags missing, but we were too far away to tell who had gotten their backpacks. That meant our bag was there, and one other tribute's. Question is, _whose _bag is left? And when would they come for it?

"I'll go, you stay here on a lookout," I whisper to Timre as I take a step out of the swamp and into the open field. Timre firmly grasped my arm, pulling me back just as quick.

"Aspen! No! Let me," Timre said with eagerness in his eyes. I frowned, shaking my head in refusal.

"No way! I'm older, I don't want you to get hurt," I argue, pulling my arm out of his grasp.

"C'mon, Aspen! Please! I can do this!" He frowned. I shook my head again.

"Answer is no," I say firmly. Timre sighed in annoyance.

"Aspen, c'mon... I can do this, let me do this one thing, for my dad," He said, becoming very serious. I stared at him, suddenly feeling unsure. I glanced at the Cornucopia, there lay our bag on the table; just waiting to be taken. The inside of the Cornucopia was pitch black, but I didn't care about the inside. All we wanted was our bag.

"I'm faster anyway! In and out, bing bang boom, I'm outta there!" Timre said with a tiny smile forming on his lips. I narrowed my eyes, that was true. Timre _was_ faster than me, it would take him like a minute to run all the way to the Cornucopia and back. One thing Timre was, was quick. I breathed in deeply, taking one last glance around. Still no one in sight.

"Alright, alright! But you had better be quick," I say firmly yet quietly. Timre smiled broadly, nodding with excitement.

"We need a code, just in case you see something and I need to run, like... 'Toenail'," Timre whispered. I raised my eyebrows.

"Okay, how about... 'GET THE TOENAIL OUTTA THERE!' ?" I say sarcastically, placing my hands on my hips. Timre grinned devilishly.

"Perfect!" He grinned, rubbing his hands together.

"Here, take my knife just in case," I say as I hold out my knife to him. Timre quickly took it, smiling.

"Gee, thanks, Aspen!" He said with a boyish grin. He frowned when he saw the worry in my eyes.

"Hey, I'll be fine, watch!" He said as he playfully punched my shoulder, then darted out of the swamp and into the open field. I drew in a sharp breath as I watched in caution. The instant he took one step onto that field, I _knew _I had made the wrong choice. "_C'mon, Timre, c'mon!" _I think to myself as I nervously bite down on my lower lip. Timre raced toward the Cornucopia, smiling ear to ear in excitement. My eyes scanned the field, searching for any sign of a tribute or danger. Timre leaped into the Cornucopia, snatching up a bag. Once he had it, he spun around with a victorious smile on his excited face. He jumped up and down, holding the bag triumphantly. My heart lifted in joy! He had the bag!

"Come on, Timre!" I mouth the words as I wave my arms, motioning for him to run back. Timre hugged the bag to his chest and began to run back toward me. I wanted to scream in joy, we did it! We did it! We could win! But suddenly, something caught my eye. There was movement in the swamp nearest to the Cornucopia! My eyes widened in horror. _"Oh no," _I think to myself.

"TIMRE! RUN!" I scream so loud I thought my neck would explode. Timre's eyes widened in alarm as Zeke raced out of the swamp, sprinting toward Timre. Zeke had a large spear in his hands, but I noticed that too late.

"Timre! Look out!" I wail as Zeke throws the spear with all his might. Timre let out a yell of pain as the spear pierced his thigh, sending Timre tumbling to the ground. Instinctively, I take off running into the field toward Timre.

"NO!" I scream in horror as Zeke jumps on top of Timre, pounding his face with punches. Timre swung his knife at Zeke, slashing him across his face. Zeke let out a pure insane laugh, as if it didn't hurt one bit. Tears began to stream down my face as I heard Timre scream in pain. Zeke grabbed the knife out of Timre's hand and began to stab Timre in his stomach over and over.

"TIMRE! NO!" I scream, I ran as fast as my legs would carry me. But there was nothing I could do as Timre helplessly tried to fight back.

"Aspen! Run!" Timre shouted as he punched Zeke's jaw as hard as he could, though Timre was incredibly weak from blood-loss. I was nearing them, but I already knew it was too late. I screamed as Zeke grabbed a chunk of Timre's hair, pulling him up as Zeke stood. Zeke smiled with an insane devilish smile as he harshly held the knife against Timre's throat, who began gasping for his breath. Timre's stomach was bleeding from the multiple stabs. I made a desperate leap for Zeke just as he slashed the knife across Timre's throat.

"Oops," Zeke chuckled as the life drained out of Timre's once bright eyes. Timre gasped deeply as he choked on his own blood. Zeke let go of Timre's hair, letting Timre fall limply to the ground.

"NO!" I wail as I lunge at Zeke.

"YOU MONSTER!" I scream as I drive my nails into Zeke's forehead and rip the skin in a desperate attempt to hurt him. Zeke began laughing in a crazy, psycho way as he punched me square in the face. I winced, but I didn't care. I began throwing random punches and kicks as tears streamed down my cheeks. That was the worst thing I had ever seen! Suddenly, a cannon echoed through the arena; I knew it was Timre. I froze, breathing heavily. Tears uncontrollably poured down my cheeks as I looked down to Timre's lifeless body. Zeke continued laughing in a crazed way, laughing so hard that he nearly fell over backwards. I fell to my knees beside Timre, I couldn't believe it. I was staring at my _dead _district partner. My friend, my best friend. He was like a brother to me, and now he was dead. Timre's skinny body lay lifeless in the grass, his blood staining the ground.

I slowly crawled to where his face was, his grey eyes still open. Sobs burst out of my mouth, I felt as if a part of me had been ripped out. I was crying so hard that my entire body shook with sorrow and shock. I shakily put my hand over his eyes, slowly closing them.

"I... I'm so... So sorry, Timre..." I say through deep sobs of tremendous sorrow. I rested my head on his forehead, weeping uncontrollably. He was dead, Timre was _dead. _Suddenly, a harsh hand grabbed my shoulder and yanked me to my feet. Zeke held me in his grasp, staring into my eyes.

"Hurts, doesn't it?" He said with a grin. Blood slowly drizzled down his jaw from where Timre had punched him. I was crying too hard to answer. Zeke grinned, as if amused by my pain.

"Well, now that you've watched your district partner die, I guess I should have some fun with you," Zeke laughed as he tightened his grip on me. My body felt numb, I couldn't fight back. Zeke suddenly grabbed my right arm with his right hand, then quickly and powerfully brought his left arm under my elbow.

_SNAP!_

__I felt my arm snap, and at the same time I saw my bone pierce my skin. I screamed in pain, nearly buckling at the knees from the pain. Zeke then continued by punching my face and ribs, making it hard to catch my breath. I screamed in terror as I found my strength and fought back with all my might. But I was no match for the strong tribute. He grabbed me and threw me onto the ground, smashing my head against the hard dirt. I began to gasp for my breath, my whole body ached in pain. The unbearable cold wasn't helping, either. I watched my breath come out in short little puffs in the freezing air. I waited for Zeke to finish me off, I was an easy target now that I was wounded badly. But to my surprise, Zeke just stared at me. My heart was pounding in shock and pain as I glanced over at Timre's body. Now he was dead, why should I go on to win? Aunt Litch was probably dead, and now my friend. I now had no one. No one to care about, no one to ever care about me either. Why should I even try to win? What good would it do? What would I gain? _Nothing._ Maybe I should let Zeke finish me...

No. I'm not going to let Zeke walk away with that stupid smile on his face, I _will _make him suffer. But my plan wouldn't work if Zeke suddenly decided to kill me right here, right now.

"Are you going to kill me?" I ask, shivering in the cold. I glanced at my bleeding arm, which was broken and blood-drenched.

"No," Zeke says with an insane grin on his face.

"Not yet, anyways. I want to wait until it's just you and me, the last survivors. And, so you can suffer a bit more," He chuckles, spitting some blood out of his mouth.

"Fine with me,"

**Hooday! R.I.P Timre! I was gonna cry while writing this chapter! I didn't want to make him die but he had to... Anyway, please review, fave and follow! I'll try to update soon! I don't own the HG or the image above!**


	19. Chapter 19

I stared at the dark, gloomy ceiling of the cave. My face was soaked with sweat, but mostly tears. After Zeke had broken my right arm and said his little speech, I seemed to freeze. I just watched him walk away, chuckling to himself. I let him _walk away. _I clenched my left fist, pure anger raging through my body. Pain shot through my right arm like fiery bullets; Zeke had snapped it so hard that the bone had pierced my skin and was now sticking out of my elbow. I let out a wail of agony, a cry of pain both physical and emotional. I had just let Zeke flee after he killed my District partner right before my eyes. _"How could I let him escape?" _I scolded myself in my head as I clenched my jaw tight. But that, that wasn't what hurt the most. Timre, my best friend, was dead. He was gone. I'd never hear his jokes, never see his scrawny little face, I'd never see my friend again. I was now truly on my own. If my aunt was dead back home, then it would be just me. My lower lip trembled, threatening to let out another scream, but I knew deep down that if I did, the other tributes might find me.

"So what if they do?!" I say aloud, leaning against the cold cave wall.

"I don't care!" I whisper as my voice begins to shake. I began to picture Timre's family, what were they like? What were they thinking right now? Did they even know their son was gone? Then, images of Zeke slashing Timre's throat raced through my mind. I made a fist in my hair with my left hand, closing my eyes tight. I tried as hard as I could to get the memory of Timre's last screams out of my head, but I couldn't. Sobs made my whole body shake, but I wasn't so sure that it wasn't from blood-loss. My right arm was gushing with blood, but I just couldn't bring myself to think about it. My mind was on what I had just seen.

I slowly breathed in, my vision foggy. I glanced down at my arm, grinding my teeth together. The pain was almost unbearable, and I was becoming light-headed. I slowly stumbled to the entrance of the cave, throwing my one good arm in the air.

"COME AND GET ME, YOU SICK MORON!" I screamed into the night. The bugs suddenly stopped chirping for a split second when I screamed.

"I'M NOT AFRAID OF YOU, ZEKE!" I stammer, the world around me beginning to spin. I slowly, painfully began to sink to my knees.

"I'll... fight you with... one ARM BEHIND... my back..." I stutter, feeling as though I was about to pass out. The ground was soft, letting my knees slush in the mud. It was barely raining, more of a fog. It was still deathly cold, though. I coughed, hanging my weak head.

"I don't... care if you see... me... cry... PANEM!" I say, my speech becoming sloshy and slurred. Everything around me began to get darker and darker, by now I knew I was passing out. Weakness swept over me like a huge wave, making my slowly flop onto my left side. Tears were still surprisingly running down my cheeks, soaking into the mud. My whole body shook as a freezing gust of wind harshly whipped past me. I blinked, my vision so clouded that I could barely make out the simplest shapes. I suddenly became unbelievably tired, wanting nothing more then to go to sleep. I just laid my head down on the wet, soggy moss; barely able to keep my eyes open.

"Come and get me, I'll beat the... potatoes... out of..." I mumbled as everything went black.

* * *

A soft little chime rang through my ears as I lay unconscious right in front of the cave. I should have gone back inside before I had passed out, but I didn't. So there I lay, out in the open. Somehow, I began to wake up. The first thing I noticed was chime ringing louder and louder, as if it were getting closer. The next thing I noticed was how weak I was. My right arm was raging with pain, and I couldn't move it. My whole body shook and trembled as I slowly opened my eyes. I was covered in a light coating of mist, and it was freezing. My teeth began to chatter together as I glanced at my left arm, which was out in front of me. It was almost blue, and I knew right then that if I didn't get warm soon, I'd be in big trouble. But, then I noticed my right arm. It was drenched in blood, and the bone was still sticking out. I breathed in deeply. If I didn't patch up that wound, I would pass out again and either die of blood-loss, or a tribute would kill me; and I was running out of time. I had already lost a lot of blood, and I would pass out again soon.

Suddenly, to my dismay, I could feel myself getting tired again. _"No, Aspen, stay awake!" _I think to myself as I groan, looking around. My heart lifted when a silver sponsor gift caught my eye. Only thing was, it was out of reach.

"No!" I hiss under my breath. I slowly, weakly tried to reach my left arm out and grab it. No luck.

"It's too far away," I whisper to myself. The gift seemed to taunt me as I stared helplessly at it.

"Why should I try to win?" I mumble as anger begins to pound in my heart.

"I've got no one now," I remark, even though no one was around. But for some strange reason, I felt guilty. Yes, Timre had died, but would he want me to give up? What would he do if he were here and saw me like this?

Well, I knew exactly how he would react. He would be angry that I would even think about quitting! Timre always wanted either of us to win; he would hate it if he found out I just let someone else win. If I wouldn't win for myself, I should at least try to win for him. With that, I suddenly got a burst of encouragement.

"Come on, come on!" I will myself as I surge my weak body forward toward the gift. My right arm began to throb with the sudden movement, making me groan in pain. But that didn't matter right now. I reached my left arm out as far as I could; my fingers could almost touch the gift!

"Just... a little... closer..." I whisper as my teeth chatter uncontrollably. My legs felt numb, but I somehow pushed myself forward and grabbed the gift. Tears began to stream down my face; I wasn't sure if they were tears of joy or tears of pain.

"I got it! I got it!" I laugh as I yank it open and peer inside. Inside the sponsor gift lay stitches, penicillin, bandages, and a needle.

On the top was a note which read: _I'm sorry about Timre's death. Keep going. I'm rooting for you. About your arm, push the bone back into place and stitch up the wounds. Then, wrap it in a bandage. Make sure you take penicillin before you fix it up. Don't die. -Anonymous  
_

I blinked, kind of in shock that someone would send me a sponsor gift after I practically yelled at all of Panem. I glanced up at the sky, knowing there was a camera somewhere watching me, and nodded a thank you to whomever sent the gift.

"Okay, here we go," I say to myself as I take the penicillin. Slowly, the throbbing pain in my arm began to subside. I slowly sat up; my whole body felt numb! I slowly began to scoot into the cave, where I should have stayed in the first place. Once inside, I sat against the wall of the cave. I watched my breath come out on puffs as I glanced at my wounded, bloody arm.

"Yuck," I cough, realizing how bad the wound really was. But there was no way I was going to cry again, I had to be tough for Timre and my aunt. I shakily put my left hand over the bone sticking out of my right elbow.

"This isn't going to feel good," I whisper to myself as I shut my eyes tight and push the bone back into my skin as hard as I could. At first, the bone didn't want to budge, but it slowly went in with a slushy sound. Blood began to literally burst from the wound as I pushed the bone in, but I didn't dare open my eyes and risk getting grossed out. I let out a scream of pure torture as pain swept through my body. Even though I had taken the penicillin, I could still feel pain. It wasn't completely unbearable though, surprisingly.

"Okay, quickly, quickly," I scold myself as I chomp down on my lower lip, open my eyes, and grab the stitches. I instantly began to stitch up the wound, but my fingers were numb and my whole body was still shaking! The stitches ended up being uneven and clumpy, but at least it was working. Tears poured down my cheeks, even though the skin was numb.

"It's okay, keep going," I order myself as I finally stitched it up. I instantly grabbed the bandages and began wrapping my arm generously with the bandage. My body shook uncontrollably from the bitter cold. Then I remembered the bag that Timre had gotten, I could use it! I instantly found the bag on the floor of the cave where I had dropped it. I ripped it open with haste, dumping the entire bag onto the floor. Out fell a blanket, food, three water bottles, and two giant curved knives. The knives had to be twice as big as the old, dull knife I got in the beginning of the Games. I grinned, picking one up with my left arm.

"Ooooh, I like!" I chuckle as I smile at my reflection on the shiny knife.

"Alright, Zeke, you want a fight?" I say as I swing the knife at the air.

"I'll give you a fight,"

**Hooday! YAY! Finally updated! So... I know this is a really short chapter, but this is just sort of a filler-in chapter, just to get this whole fix-my-broken-arm thing outta the way! And I'm SUPER sorry for not updating in like 2 weeks, I had to babysit these 2 dogs for a week, and then ducks the next, and I also had this thing going on in my church this week too! So REALLY busy week! But I updated cause some of you seemed to be getting mad that I haven't updated! But! I will probably update tomorrow night! If I don't update by tomorrow I promise I won't take as long to update as I did this chapter! The next chapter will have lots of action! **

**So thanks to everyone who faved, followed, and reviewed! I don't own the HG or the image above!**


	20. Chapter 20

I walked out of the cave, an overwhelming feeling of pure revenge raged through my veins as I did so. Nothing but Zeke was embedded in my mind, and I felt overly evil. I clutched one curved knife firmly in my left hand, the other in my right. In my right hand, I could only carry the knife, I couldn't swing it around because of my wound. At least I couldn't feel the pain since I took penicillin. Thank _goodness _for the sponsor gift given to me by an anonymous person; it was filled with goodies to heal my arm, the knives, and a few other items.

The swamp was unusually quiet, and it was almost pitch-black. The cold wind hissed through the trees, sending chills down my bare arms. The ground was wet and soggy from the unbelievable rain storm earlier; but now it was just very foggy. There were three other tributes left. The girl from District 1, the boy from District 4, and the boy from District 7. The only one I really cared about right now was the boy from District 7, aka Zeke. They were somewhere out there, somewhere. I just have to find them; and believe me,_ I will. _

I clenched my jaw tightly to keep my teeth from chattering in the cold. I watched as my breath left me in little puffs, disappearing into the night. But I wasn't thinking about how cold I was, I was thinking about Zeke as he held my best friend up and sliced his throat. Zeke killed my best friend, my only friend. Images of Timre collapsing to the ground flashed through my head as I bit my lower lip.

"What am I going to do when I find Zeke?" I whisper to myself. Anger flooded through my as I pictured Zeke's insane grin.

"When I do find him, I'll... I'll... beat him up!" I mutter, rolling my shoulders back. But deep down, I knew I couldn't take Zeke one-on-one in a fist fight.

"I'll have to take him by surprise!" I say, starting to smirk in rage.

"I'LL-"

All of the sudden, someone leaped out of the tree beside me and tackled me to the ground! Surprised, I collapsed with a gasp of shock. From the power of the tackle, we began rolling on the ground in confusion and fury, making me lose grasp on my curved knives and drop them. The person tried to get me into a head-lock, but I somehow managed to squirm out of it just in time.

"You're going down, 8!" The girl from District 1, Berna's voice hissed in my ear. But little did we know, there was a huge, steep hill in front of us hidden by the blanket of darkness, and we were barreling right toward it.

"Get off me!" I screech in frustration as I try to punch Berna. Suddenly, I felt the both of us begin to flip down the hill!

"AHHH!" We both screamed as we rolled down the giant hill. Rocks, thorn bushes, and mud all flew right smack in my face, almost blinding me as I screamed. To my dismay, Berna still had a grasp on me. She somehow began to punch me through the chaos! Confused, shocked, and in pain, I could only try to block the hits as best I could as we rolled to the mercy of the hill. I could feel my face being pumbled, and I knew if I didn't get out of this mess quick, I'd pass out! Suddenly, what felt like a vine scraped past my left arm. In a desperate attempt to save myself, I tangled my fingers around the vine and suddenly jerked to a stop! I let out a shriek of pain, I had jolted to a stop so fast that I nearly ripped my arm out of socket! Berna, however, lost her grip on me from the force of the sudden stop and tumbled into the darkness.

"BLAST!" She screamed in anger as she vanished into the darkness. I groaned in pain as a few droplets of blood dripped off of my eyebrows and into my eyes. I blinked hard, looking upwards hoping to miraculously see my curved knives somewhere. But to my dismay, I didn't. _"I must have dropped them at the top of the hill," _I think to myself.

"I'm coming to get you, Aspen!" Berna's voice shouted from somewhere beneath me.

"Uh-huh," I remarked, poison dripping from my voice. I glanced back up, trying to figure out a way to climb to the top. The hill was very steep, so it would be tricky.

"You can't stay up there forever!" She beckoned from the darkness. The vine was tightly wrapped around my left hand, nearly cutting off the circulation. But if I let go, I'd surely tumble to the bottom only to be face-to-face with Berna. _"Hmmm... I could climb the vine," _I think to myself. I then glanced at my right arm. The bandage was slightly stained with blood, but the penicillin hadn't worn off yet so I was good. For now, at least. I could grab the vine with my right hand, but there was no way I could pull myself up with it. Penicillin or not, my arm just wasn't capable of that.

"Get your sorry butt down here!" Berna screamed, the urge to kill lingering in her tone.

"Come on, Aspen, think!" I mutter to myself as I shake my head, sending drops of blood and sweat flying. I then realized how soft the ground was! It slushed with every move I made, it was definitely soft. I slowly dug my toes, knees, and my left elbow into the mushy earth. Once I was steady, I slowly let go of the vine with my left hand. Luckily, I didn't fall! My left arm instantly felt strained from carrying most of my weight, but I didn't dare let go. Slowly, I made my way upwards.

Suddenly, a glint of moonlight darted across a long strip of metal ahead. _"My knives!" _I thought as hope flooded through my body. Mud and slime nearly made it impossible to climb higher, but I found myself inching toward the knives.

"You really think you can get away from me? We're in an arena! I'll find you!" Berna screamed in anger. I ignored her cries, the knives were almost in reach now; if I could just use my right arm to grab them! I slowly extended my right hand toward the glistening curved knives, trying to steady myself and not fall at the same time. My fingertips could feel the icy sting of the knives as I cautiously wiggled the knives toward me.

"So... Close..." I muttered to myself. Sweat dripped into my eyes as my left hand began to slip!

"Oh no!" I gasp as I desperately dig my fingers into the slushy mush of mud. I knew I was going down, so in one desperate attempt to get my knives I harshly pushed off with my feet, grabbed the blades of both knives, and reluctantly slid down the hill. I slid so fast, all I saw was objects whizzing by. Water and mud from the soaked ground seemed to completely cover my entire body as I slid. I could feel rocks and sticks smash into me as I tumbled past them, but all I could do was shriek from the pain. Somehow through all the chaos, I kept a grip on the knives! It felt like it had only taken seconds for me to slide all the way down, and at the bottom I was greeted by Berna. She was covered in as much dirt and mud as I was, but also had scratches everywhere. Blood trickled down her face and arms, and I was guessing I looked about as beat up as she did.

"About time!" She hissed as she tried to grab a hold of my neck.

"You either leave me alone or die!" I shout, ripping her arm away from my throat.

"Ha! I'd like to see you try to kill me!" She chuckled, blood slowly running from her nose.

"Fine," I stammer as I rise to my feet. My whole body ached from the fall, but I didn't dare let her notice my pain. I slowly looked down at my right hand which held the two curved knives. Unfortunately, I had grabbed the blades. I blinked hard, realizing they had practically ripped my hand to shreds! It took me a second to actually inhale as I watched blood stream from my hand. But I didn't have much time to think about it. Suddenly, Berna launched herself toward me. She sank her fingernails into my face and began to try to rip me apart. I clutched the curved knives in my hand and swung them at her, one of them missed while the other sliced into her arm.

"OW!" She shrieked in pain as she let go of my face and stumbled backwards. She quickly examined the cut, beginning to snarl when she realized I had hurt her. Her eyes searched over the wound, then instantly fastened onto me. I felt a pang of fear when I saw revenge in her gaze, making chills race down my spine. For some reason, I couldn't move. It was as if fear had frozen me stiff!

"That's it!" She shouted, spitting blood everywhere as she did. I quickly realized that if I didn't move, I'd be dead. I instantly reached down and picked up my knives, one in each hand. I barely had time to stand up when Berna tackled me to the ground, prepared to kill me. I flew backwards, landing on my back. Instinctively, I closed my eyes, thinking I would be dead in a few seconds. But to my surprise, Berna lay motionless. I slowly opened my eyes. _"I'm... I'm not... Dead?" _I think to myself as I see Berna lying limp on top of me. Stunned, I quickly shoved her off. She rolled with a quiet groan, but it was so quiet it was like her last breath. I breathed in deeply, noticing my shiny curved knife burrowed into her chest. Her eyes suddenly twitched, focusing on me as a tear rolled down her cheek; but I instantly saw the life flow out of her. For some reason, I had to be sure.

"B...B-Berna?" I stuttered, sitting up. No answer, just the cold wind howling was heard. Suddenly, a cannon went off, echoing through the darkness. I almost felt sorrow as I looked at her lifeless gaze, but I knew I couldn't. This was the Hunger Games, and I had to win for Timre and my aunt. I still felt shaken up, though. My whole body trembled from all the adrenaline and shock as I stood to my feet. I still had one knife in my right hand, but I slowly walked over to Berna's limp body.

"Sorry," I whisper as I put my foot onto her stomach, grab the curved knife with my left hand, and yanked it out of her chest. I yanked so hard that she would have come with it if I hadn't kept my foot on her stomach. I slowly turned and began walking through the swamp, though it was hard because of the dark. The chilly wind whipped a few strands of my messy hair into my face, and it stuck to the blood and mud.

"Blah!" I mutter, pulling it off my face. I closed my eyes as I walked, feeling completely exhausted. The pain from falling and fighting was beginning to sink in, and it wasn't pleasant. I could feel my body starting to shut down from pain, exhaustion, and lack of food and water; but I had to keep going. Now, there were three tributes left; Clutch, Zeke, and me. The Hunger Games were close to ending, and one of us would be the victor.

"Lets finish this," I stammer, opening my eyes and clutching the curved knives boldly.

**Hooday! I'M BACK! Sorry I took FOREVER to update! I took a break for the summer because summer is always crazy around here. I should have told y'all I was taking a break, sorry about that! Now that it's closer to autumn, I'll have a lot more time to update, so expect more chapters! It's the final three! WOOOO! And guess what! I'M TAKING ARCHERY LESSONS! I'm taking them on the 17th of this month! CAN'T WAIT! And one last thing, WHO'S TOTALLY EXCITED FOR THE NEW CATCHING FIRE TRAILER! OHMIGOSH! When I saw that trailer, I was running around my house screaming like a 2 year old! Well, Imma try to update next weekend, cause that's the only time I can update.**

**I don't own the HG or the image above. That's all folks, BUH-BYE!**


	21. Chapter 21

_Drip. Drip. _

Something kept dripping down my face and onto my closed eyes. I inhaled deeply, my whole body ached and felt incredibly stiff. But the most pain was in my right arm, the penicillin was wearing off. I felt weeds and sticks tightly dig into my body, I apparently fell asleep somewhere on the swamp ground. _"I must have fallen asleep," _I thought to myself, refusing to open my heavy eyelids; I was still half-asleep. I drew in another dramatic deep breath, suddenly realizing that there was something terribly wrong. The air was insanely hot! I coughed, it almost hurt my throat to breathe!

"What on Earth..." I mutter as I open my eyes, getting more and more awake. My vision was oddly blurry, and everything seemed a lot brighter. I blinked hard, which helped my vision settle down a little. The sun was shining extremely bright, it had to be late morning, maybe a little past 9:00. I gasped when I realized my entire body was _drenched_ in sweat!

"Oh my gosh," I whispered just as more sweat dripped right smack into my eyes. I felt incredibly weak and shaky, also very light-headed. I clenched my hands, realizing I was still holding my curved knives.

"I think I'm... way dehydrated, I... need to find some... water..." I stammer, my mouth felt so dry that it felt like I had dust on my tongue. I slowly moved my head to look at the surroundings, maybe figure out where I was. But each time I moved my head, my vision would go foggy again. Since there was such a heavy rainstorm last night, it was awfully humid. But yet there was not even the slightest sign of moisture to be found anywhere! _"Weird," _I thought as I slowly tried to sit up. It took at least a minute to even get into the sitting position because I had gotten so weak.

"How in the... world am I su... supposed to get to water... like this?" I say aloud, looking down at myself. My clothes were clinging to my moist skin and they were covered in sweat, dried mud, and dried blood. Suddenly, I heard a familiar chime. My eyes scanned the sky, I knew what it was.

"A spon... sponsor gift!" I cough, my throat felt flaky as I did so. I watched with glazed vision as the shiny gift floated down and landed beside me. I wanted to snatch it up, but my arm would only move slowly. I carefully picked up the gift, and although I knew it was supposed to only a few pounds, to my weak arms it felt like a million. It took me a few moments to take the top off, but I was relived with what was inside. It wasn't much, but it was exactly what I needed.

A water bottle.

"Thank goodness," I remark as I rip off the cap and bring the water to my dry, yet moist from sweat lips. It tasted like water that had come straight from Heaven's pond! I could feel my body strengthen a little as I gulped down the water as fast as I could. Before I knew it, the water was gone; but at least I could function! I smiled, reaching inside the gift to pull out the note that came along with it. It read:

_"You looked a little hot, enjoy._ _- Anonymous"_

I grinned, looking at the sky and nodding a thank you to whomever had sent the gracious gift. My vision was slowly clearing up, but I knew I would get dehydrated very quickly again if I didn't find more water for later. The swamp was so hot I could already feel myself getting thirsty again. Then my mind shot back to my bag in the cave, the one Timre had gotten. Inside were three water bottles, and I could use those badly.

"I need to get back to the cave," I announce to apparently no one. I slowly stood to my feet, still feeling a little nauseous. But it would have to do! I glanced around, not recognizing anything around me. _"Great. I'm lost," _I think to myself with a huff. I glanced down at my right arm, the bandage was still tightly wrapped around it. But pain was beginning to throb, I knew the penicillin was wearing off rapidly. "_Perfect," _I think to myself sarcastically.

I take a deep breath as I slowly started walking towards to where I hoped the cave would be. After a few steps I start getting light-headed, but I keep moving forward. Sweat continued to pour down my face and body, making the heat worse for some reason. Even my sweat felt hot as it drizzled from my forehead and into my eyes. After walking for about twenty minutes, my eye-lids start to get heavy, my footing starts to get sloppy, and my throat becomes unbearably dry. It almost hurt to breathe, the air tasted like dust instead of wonderful, fantastic air. But I willed myself to keep going, there was no way I was stopping now. After a few more minutes of walking, I began to recognize a few of the surroundings and I tried my hardest to calculate where the cave would be. My feet began to feel a hundred pounds heavier than normal, and I knew I was getting dehydrated again. I looked up at the sky, it was late morning and it was already _this _hot?! I began dreading the thought of what it would be like in the afternoon. It wouldn't be pretty, not one bit!

* * *

It seemed like an eternity of walking through an oven, but eventually I had somehow wondered across my cave. But by now, I was so dehydrated that I could hardly see straight. Though my vision was clouded, I focused on the cave as I neared it. _"One foot in front of the other," _I thought to myself as I slowly but surely stumbled to the cave. The inside of the cave was still hot and dry, but not as bad as out directly in the sun. I dropped the curved knives and fell to my knees in front of the bag, desperately ripping it open. Inside lay three water bottles, a little food, and a blanket. I ignored the other things and went straight for one of the water bottles. The water was warm, but at least it was water! I brought the bottle to my lips, then paused.

"I need to save it as long as I can," I whispered. I drank a few big gulps, then reluctantly put the cap back on. I breathed in deeply, putting everything into my backpack instead of the bag. I could carry it easier with my backpack.

"Wait a minute..." I mumbled as I leaned against the cave wall.

"Why don't I just stay here? It's cooler and pretty safe," I say to myself as I make myself comfortable. I sat there for a good few minutes, relaxing and tying to get my strength back. Occasionally I would glance at my arm, the pain was increasing every minute! I clenched my jaw, trying my best not to think about it. I closed my eyes tight. _"I can do this," _I thought to myself, trying to grudge up some kind of courage that I didn't have. Maybe if I just kept thinking it, I would eventually start to believe it. Suddenly, a pebble plopped onto my shoulder. I opened my eyes, glaring at it. I quickly flicked it off, then relaxed again as I closed my eyes. A moment later, another pebble fell onto my head!

"Grrr! What's going on?" I mutter as I try to relax. Suddenly, a whole stream of pebbles began to plop onto the ground from the ceiling!

"What the..." I began as I shakily stood up. The pebbles quickly turned into rocks as the whole cave shook and trembled. Almost instantly the rocks turned to boulders, tumbling down toward me.

"EARTHQUAKE!" I screamed as I swung my backpack onto my left shoulder, grabbed my knives, and bolted for the entrance. Rocks smashed against me, nearly making me lose my footing as boulders began to crowd around the entrance of the cave, making a narrow exit. I knew that if I didn't make a desperate leap for freedom right now, I would be trapped then buried alive!

"AHHH!" I shrieked as I dove out of the entrance, landing on my stomach about a foot outside the cave. My breath came out short as I glanced behind me to see the entrance completely blocked, and the ceiling crumbling to the ground. My heart was racing with adrenaline, I could almost feel it pound out of my chest! I coughed, trying to pull myself together as I stood up.

"Well, there goes my shelter," I mumbled with a huff. I slowly looked at the sky, I was already starting to break out into a sweat. I frowned, turning and walking back into the swamp.

* * *

As I walked, I gently scratched the dried mud, blood, and dirt off of my right arm with my left hand. I was sick of feeling like a dried up old raisin! I scratched and scratched, but no matter how much filth I got off, there was another layer of mud. It was frustrating, but at least it kept my mind off the fact that I was sweating like a pig in the desert. My throat was dry again, and the air tasted of tension and heat. Yes, it was so hot I could taste it! I rubbed the sweat off of my forehead with my sleeve, feeling drowsy and achy. Insects chirped, but it was an odd chirp. Almost like they were sick? I coughed, almost positive that dust flew out of my mouth when I did.

"Ugh, it's so hot!" I hissed as I wiped my forehead again. The ground was unusually hard, which is _very _odd in a swamp. I paused, realizing where I was going.

"The river!" I snorted, listening intently for the sound of rushing water. But to my surprise, there was no powerful echo of the water. I cautiously continued walking, going toward where I knew the river was. I stopped when I looked down, noticing the dead bugs everywhere. I frowned again, trying to avoid the nasty little things. There was no sound of the water, which began to put me on edge. _"It's a river, how can there be no sound?" _I thought to myself. Suddenly, a twinkle caught my eye. Instinctively, I clutched my knives tightly, then relaxed when I realized what it was. It was the reflection of the sunlight bouncing off of the water.

"I found it!" I smiled as I tried to run, but could only manage a jog. My smile quickly vanished when I saw the river wasn't moving; it was still. I paused, blinking hard. _"Rivers aren't still, they're constantly moving," _I thought as I looked into the water. It was almost like looking into a mirror! I could my reflection so clearly that I began to question if it was even water I was looking at.

"Impossible!" I gasped, staring in amazement. Then it hit me. This is the arena, they can do whatever they please! Maybe this was a tactic to freak the tributes out and mess with their minds. Then my eyes rested on my reflection, making me cringe. I didn't even look like myself! My fish braid was a tangled mess, coated in mud and dried leaves, my clothes were ragged and ripped in places, and I was so skinny that I looked like a stick! My face was scratched and appeared to be ruined. It was covered in dark, dried blood and filth with deep, scabbed wounds practically covering my entire face. But the one thing that made my heart sink was my expression, pure sadness and hurt. My eyes no longer had the fire they once did, my lips refused to break into a smile. Instead, bitter hurt was painted across my now damaged face.

I slowly raised my left hand and felt my cheek, checking to make sure the monster I was staring at was really me. Tears began to well up in my eyes, I wasn't myself anymore. I was different, I had changed. A single tear rolled down my cheek, slid across my dry lips, then daintily plopped into the mirrored water. Ripples instantly spread throughout the strange water; when suddenly, a huge pair of jaws sprang from beneath the water and raged for my face! I screamed in shock and jumped backwards, barely missing the huge teeth. My eyes widened when I realized it was the mutation! I fell onto my back, then tried to scramble backwards to get away from it. But something was different about the mutation. It's scales weren't the dusky green they once were, they were a sickening yellowish color. It's fierce eyes were glazed and cloudy, and it appeared weak. The mutation slowly tried to crawl onto the shore to get me, but it could only pull its upper-body up. I watched, somehow feeling safe. I knew it couldn't get to me now. I slowly remembered that the waters were poisoned now, and apparently it was strong enough the kill the mutation too.

The monster opened it's jaws weakly and attempted to snap, but it was at least four feet away. It let out a groan of agony, watching me intently with it's heavy eyes. It's breath came out slowly and heavily, making his sides heave in and out. Mist flew out of his nostrils as he snorted, resting his head onto the dry ground. The mutation was dying.

"Note to self, don't go swimming," I mumbled as I stood up. I wiped more sweat off my forehead, then turned and walked away from the mutation. My legs felt like mush as I wandered around, but I didn't dare stop. There was no doubt that the other tributes were out and about looking for water, un-poisoned water. They could be anywhere, and I had to keep my guard up. The sun never let up, either. It just kept pounding me with heat! I could feel myself dehydrating again, I needed water.

"Thank goodness I put the leftover water in my backpack," I said to myself as I sat against a very tall tree. I slowly set my knives down beside me and sighed. I grabbed my backpack off my shoulder and unzipped it, then pulled out a water bottle. I only had three, so I could only drink a little in order to save the water for as long as I could. I quickly took a few sips, feeling slightly better with each one. I closed my eyes, treasuring each drop of water that touched my mouth.

_Crunch._

I paused, hearing a few leaves crunch directly in front of me. I instantly opened my eyes to see Clutch standing above me. His muscles were huge, clearly he could kill me easily. But his stature was much weaker than normal, I guessed he was extremely dehydrated. His face was covered in scabs, dirt, and sweat. But what caught my eye was a fresh wound above his eyebrow, sending drops of blood into his eye. He had a spear clutched in his right hand, and his eyes were locked on my water bottle. He slowly raised his gaze to meet my eyes, sending a death-glare. I nearly dropped my water bottle in fear, but slowly screwed the cap back on.

"You have water?" He asked slowly. His voice was very dry and shaky, "Good water?"

"Um..." Is all that would come out of my mouth.

"Give it to me, now!" He threatened as he tightened his grip on his spear and forced his body to tense so he would look intimidating. The look on his face showed that he wasn't leaving without my water. One of us was either going to die, or I would toss it over. _"What do I do?" _I thought to myself as I slowly set my water bottle onto the ground. With my other hand, I tried to casually reach for my knife.

"Don't even," He growled, a little foam forming in the corners of his dry, thin lips. I instantly froze, trying to decide on what to do. _"Should I just let him take it?" _I thought as I stared into his determined eyes. Chills shot down my spine as I narrowed my gaze at him.

"You'll have to fight me for it!" I hiss as I instantly grab both knives and stagger to my feet. I could see Clutch's shoulders sink slightly in disappointment, but he was trying not to show it.

"Fine then," He sighed as he grabbed his spear with both hands and swung it at me like a bat. I quickly ducked, then swiped my knife at him with my left arm. I was hoping he didn't know I couldn't use my right arm well, but the bandage kind of gave that away. Clutch expertly avoided it, then spun behind me. In one quick move, he brought the spear over my head and against my neck. For some dumb reason, I dropped the knife in my right hand. He instantly pulled back, choking me. I coughed and squirmed, trying to get free.

"I'm sorry about this, just for the record... But don't tell anyone I said that!" He whispered as he pulled against the spear harder. I could feel my windpipe beginning to crush, I had to act quickly. I tightened my grip on the knife in my left hand and slashed it across both of his hands. Surprised, Clutch winced and dropped the spear as he backed up. I quickly spun around to face him, waving my knife menacingly at his face. Clutch maneuvered away from the knife, then tried to grab my neck. I sliced his cheek as he did, making him back up a step. While he was backing up, I clenched my jaw and swung at his face as hard as I possibly could.

"Take this!" I shouted, feeling certain victory coming. But Clutch instantly shot his left hand up, blocking the blow to his face with his hand. The blade dug deep into his palm, but Clutch surprisingly didn't flinch. I sure did, though.

"Yuck! Why'd you do that?!" I gasped, horrified that he would risk chopping his hand off.

"You were going for my face, duh!" He replied, grabbing the knife and ripping it out of his palm. We both paused, surprised that we were having a short chat. Clutch shrugged it off, realizing he had my curved knife now. He powerfully swung it at me, forcing me to duck and tumble backwards. I quickly snatched the curved knife that I had dropped earlier and we engaged in a knife battle. The clang of the metal hitting each other echoed through the air as he fought our hardest over the water. Clutch had to be giving it his all, because he looked extremely dehydrated. I was growing weary myself as we both began panting in the heat. Sweat and blood flew everywhere as he would scratch me with the knife, then I would slash him. It was truly a gruesome fight!

Finally, Clutch seemed to get desperate. He dropped his knife and tackled me to the ground, roughly hitting my forehead with his elbow. I shrieked in pain, dropping the knife again. While I was down, Clutch scrambled to his feet and snatched the water bottle that I had set on the ground. He ripped the cap off and took a huge gulp, closing his eyes. It seemed to give him a little of his strength back.

"Stupid, you should have just given me the water," Clutch chuckled as he took another sip of water. I rubbed my head, slowly sitting up. I frowned when I saw he had taken my water bottle. I grabbed my curved knives off the ground and stood to my feet.

"You going to try to kill me again?" I ask, preparing for another battle. Clutch stared at me for a second. He glared, but I guess he didn't feel like wasting his new energy to try to attack me. Without a word, he turned and walked off. I was too tired and shocked to follow him, so I just watched him walk away. Even when he disappeared, I kept my eyes locked on where he had gone just to be sure he wouldn't come back. But eventually he would need more water, and I still had two water bottles left that he didn't know about. He might come looking for me to see if I have any left, so I would have to be prepared. Then again, this is the Hunger Games.

_Anything _could happen.

**Hooday! So... NEW CHAPTER! YAY! And this took me a few days to write but it's finally up! And I took my archery class with my little sister about a week ago and it was AWESOME! I WANT TO DO IT AGAIN SOOOO BADLY! Anyhow, I've got this good idea for a new story in my head too, which I'll probably start writing once this is done! So... next chapter will be up soon and thanks to everybody who reviewed! It means a lot! **

**I don't own the HG or the image above. **


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